Two Worlds, One Family
by Atlantic Jewel
Summary: A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance...and, adventure! HIATUS - INDEFINITELY.
1. Asia - Don't Trust It!

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Asia - Don't Trust It!

* * *

"So, for a colour image of 175 lpi, how many dpi do you scan it in as?" The lecturer glanced around the classroom, and his eyes fell on the first girl in the third row from the windows.

She was short, at only about 5'0". Her dark auburn hair with the lighter ends was tied in its usual messy ponytail, and her hazel eyes were framed by glasses as she had just been reading from the white-board. She was dressed mostly in black, in a kind of preppy style, from the black stockings to the black knee boots, short black pleated skirt, black blouse under a black jumper with pink stripes around the middle, and pink ribbon in her hair. Her ears were pierced three times with mismatched golden hoop earrings, and her nails were painted pink to match her jumper and bow (which also happened to match her I-Pod and her wallet).

Her name was Emma Pax.

Taking that as her cue to answer, she consulted her notebook and, her voice shaking from speaking up in front of the others, she answered: "W-well, it's t-times two, so..."

"350 dpi." A voice said from behind her, and she resisted the urge to turn around and glare at the girl behind her. With her own lack of height and dark red hair, Georgia Brown could've been Emma's best friend - if she wasn't her biggest rival. For some odd reason, the two girls seemed to have pegged each other as enemies. Today, she wore an over-sized black sweater over maroon tights, black flats, maroon nail-polish and a black knitted hat. She had also just answered Emma's question, which did not impress the other girl, but of course she kept her mouth shut, and just continued to stare at the board, until she felt that old nagging sense tugging her gaze to the right.

Her eyes darted to the screen...her hand reached for the mouse...just a few clicks, and..._voila_! Onto the screen flashed a page on Fan Fiction. net. Making sure to keep one ear on the lecture, Emma began to read. It was a story that she'd read several times before but, still, she always found something new that she wanted to read about it. It was the typical OC meets canon-characters thing, and involved a romance between the fan-character and a certain green-haired swordsman. It also appealed to Emma because, like her, the main character had a pushy Mum.

Emma loved the story of _One Piece_, even though a lot of people called it a kid's show. To her, however, it was awesome, and the characters and story-line fit together perfectly. She loved anime, but One Piece held a special place in her heart, considering how badly she'd wanted to watch it when she'd first heard about it, but it had taken her nearly a year to be able to do so and, even then, it was only the 4-Kidz dub. Still, that was better than nothing, and now the Funimation dub was perfect. She didn't really have a favourite character - she liked them all.

Of course, there were a few characters that she hated, too...

So preoccupied was Emma, with her fan-day-dreaming, that she nearly missed it when the lecturer, Fitz, said: "So, make sure you scan your images in at the right resolution - I'll be coming around to check."

Emma panicked - what was she supposed to be doing?! Curse her and her ADD!

Glancing around quickly, Emma noticed that other people were going up to the front of the classroom, and selecting photographs out of a box, so she hurried up to the table as well.

"Where's my Tim Curry?" Emma heard Georgia say, as the red-head riffled through the box from last week's scanning tutorial before anyone else could get to it, before snatching up a photograph of the man in question as he'd looked in the movie _Muppet Treasure Island_.

Two fellow TAFE classmates, Sam Dean (whose full initials were STD) and Tyler Johnson (wheelchair kid), laughed at this, as everyone else tried to find a photograph of a person that wasn't completely ugly, although they were apparently going to be Photoshopping it anyway, so what was the big deal?

Emma just picked the first picture that she came to - a very random, slightly chunky lady - and returned to her seat. She stood up nearly straight away, and went over to the closest scanner, managing to get there second - Georgia, of course, had beaten her to it.

Emma waited patiently as Georgia expertly scanned in her picture, her actions so fast that you couldn't have timed it, before she got up and moved back to her own computer.

As Emma slid into the seat, she suddenly realised that she had no idea what to do - last week's lesson seemed a very long time ago. "Wait, how do I use this thing again?" Emma said out-loud, not really expecting an answer, but she got one.

"You weren't paying attention when he showed us last week?" Georgia said crisply. "Spending too much time on Deviant Art?" She shrugged. "Fun for you."

Emma sat back in her swivel chair, feeling numb. Wasn't this supposed to have ended in high school which, for her, was, like, six years ago? Then again, she hadn't been any good at standing up for herself back then, either so, instead of telling Georgia something sharp, Emma just sat there, staring at the screen for a full ten seconds, before another girl in the class, Christine Zanders, came and helped her out.

_What's wrong with me?_ Emma wondered, back at her own computer now. She found her photo in the Limbo folder (a folder that could be accessed by all of the computers on the campus) and opened it in Photoshop, making sure to keep her internet page open in the corner of the Mac screen, so that she could read while she worked. _Why don't I ever stand up for myself? Oh well..._ She sighed, and set to work Photoshopping the lady's face, before realising that she'd scanned it in at the wrong resolution. She had to go back and re-scan it, which did not impress Sam (whose computer was hooked up to that particular scanner).

* * *

The good thing about Wednesday was that it was only a half-day, so everyone got to go home at one o'clock. The other good thing was that there was only one day left after that, and then a four-day weekend - bonus!

Emma left the Central TAFE campus in Northbridge, Perth City, listening to _Long Live The Weekend_ by The Living End on her I-Pod. She passed a group of film-students, talking and laughing, and tried to ignore the pain in her gut. Christine was the closest thing she had to a friend at TAFE (they both shared a love of anime, and Emma _had_ to remember to watch _Kyoh Kara Maoh_, like Christine had instructed her too, but would Christine watch any _Hetalia_?), but even then they didn't see each other outside of TAFE. There, Emma had only two friends, her best friends in the whole wide world or, at least, they had been as kids. Now, it seemed like they were growing apart, yet they could still act like they'd just seen each other yesterday, even after weeks apart. It was one of the things that Emma's Mum bugged her about.

_Call Mayling sometimes, don't be so lazy, or else she'll leave you behind!_

_Get off your ass and go and _see_ Krystal, or else you're gonna lose her!_

_Stop watching so much childish shit, or you're going to lose the only friends you've got!_

Emma was not on very good terms with her Mum. Luckily, both Lee and Bruce were on a holiday in the Eastern States right at that moment, which meant that Emma could go home and do the one thing that she'd wanted to do since waking up that morning.

Go back to sleep.

Why was she so tired lately, anyway? Well, she had an idea of what _might_ have caused her sudden lack of energy. It was a hot day, and she was sweating in her black clothing. Her legs felt like lead, as she walked past the State Library, towards the train station. Trains, in Emma's opinion, were beautiful, and she was glad to be able to have the chance to ride them so often. They weren't steam trains, but they reminded her of the sea-train from One Piece nonetheless. Tagging on with her Smart-Rider, and riding the escalator, Emma allowed her mind to wander off with her music, as she walked the familiar path to platform two.

As she boarded the train, she was lucky enough to get the seat she always liked (facing the front, with a river-side view) and immediately put her feet up on the yellow guard-rail in front of her, before taking out a book. No, it wasn't a manga, it was an actual book. One aimed at younger people, she had found out _after_ she'd purchased it, but a good story, regardless. It was called _White Ninja_, and was written by the martial-artist trainer on _The Biggest Loser_, Tiffany Hall. To Emma, Tiffany was inspirational and awesome, and reading this book made her feel excited about tomorrow night's martial arts lesson.

Krystal and Mayling had suddenly expressed interest in something Emma had wished to learn for years - martial arts. Maybe to learn a new skill, or maybe to avoid ending up as a statistic, like so many girls in their city recently. Either way, Lee and Bruce had been powerless to stop what happened when all three girls got together and researched, eventually finding a martial arts school in Cannington. The three girls had been given two weeks of _free_ trial lessons with the other white-belt students, which gave Emma some time to creatively avoid telling her parents how much the lessons would be costing. Fifty dollars per lesson, with a one year plan, was a _lot_, plus it was risky if you didn't want to continue for whatever reason (or, if you _couldn't_) but, Emma figured, she would be paying for the lessons herself with the money she got from Centerlink, so there shouldn't _really_ be a problem with fifty dollars per lesson, should there?

Still, she was reluctant to let her parents know...

Emma was so involved with her book, that she nearly missed her stop, but managed to make it out just as the door was closing, and lugging her heavy backpack as she did.

"Be careful, kid!" A nearby train-guard barked at her, making her jump.

"Y-yes, sir!" Emma squeaked, not bothering to correct him on her age - it never worked on her parents, so why should it work on a complete and total stranger?

Keeping her head down as she stepped shakily onto the escalator, Emma tagged off, and then dug her keys out of her bag, exchanging her Smart-Rider for them.

After walking three kilometers (which it felt like) to her car, Emma unlocked the white Lancer and slid gratefully in, glad to be out of the heat - that is, until she switched on the air-conditioner, only to find that it wasn't working. "Oh, come on!" She complained, before sighing again and driving out of the parking space, sliding a CD into the player at the same time.

The music came on.

It's true, we're all a little...insane... Amy Lee of Evanescence sang, and Emma found herself singing along, wishing that she could sing like that. Her voice...well, let's just say that her Dad often said she should sing something the family dog didn't know. She also knew that her parents might try to Skype her later on that night, and ask her how the house-work was going.

With that in mind, plus a debit card full of money in her wallet, Emma decided to take a detour home...oh, okay, so she totally veered off-course when she headed for the shops. At times like this, she reasoned, there was only one thing to do - shop!

Yup, she was a complete and utter shop-a-holic.

If only she'd know that this simple shopping trip was going to change her life.

* * *

Smiling in an almost guilty fashion, Emma walked out of JB-Hi-Fi about ten minutes later, swinging the familiar yellow and black shopping bag. Inside was the first volume of One Piece, with four whole discs of nothing but One Piece-y goodness. _Finally_, she could see where 4-Kidz went wrong, and go Funimation forever!

Listening to her I-Pod, she headed over to the BBQ Inn and, after getting her usual rice/noodles/honey chicken/sweet and sour pork with extra sweet and sour sauce, she noticed that the stand where she'd gotten her snake bracelet from a few months ago was gone, and a new stall was up in its place. Curious, because it seemed out of place in the center, Emma began making her way over to it, feeling as compelled to do so as she had to read some more of that fan fic earlier on in the morning.

Why was there no one manning the store? And, why was the jewelry so strange here? Various trinkets and whatnot...Emma's kind of store...

Emma was so busy staring, that she didn't sense the presence that came up beside her until she looked, and jumped, seeing the shortest Asian lady in the entire world. She also appeared to be the oldest and, almost as if she could read Emma's mind, the old lady glared up at her with _blue_ eyes, despite being Asian.

"You come have look at shop!" The lady demanded, as Emma took her headphones off hurriedly.

"O-okay!" Emma stammered, nodding, as she followed the lady closer to her stall.

The lady took her place behind the table, her gaze steady and piercing. Those blue eyes of hers were startling, and seemed to be endless, like a cremello pony's. Emma found herself unable to look into them for too long, which was nothing new. She busied herself with looking at the jewelry, but noticed something odd.

"There's no..." She began to whisper, but the lady cut her off (how had she heard?).

"You find what like!" The lady ordered. "Then, we talk price!"

Emma shook her head. "Oh, no...umm, I have to go..."

The lady narrowed her blue eyes. "You lie." She accused, pointing a finger at a startled Emma. "No have to do anything but sleep - tired face give away." She added, in answer to Emma's shocked expression. She put her hands on her hips. "You take time, is no rush." She sat on a little stool, and waited.

Emma gulped, and turned back to the display, wondering if the tiny Asian lady would give chase if she tried to run. It was a scary thought. Like Hetty from _NCIS_...

Emma browsed the shelves, wondering how she'd gotten herself roped into all of this. Her eyes wandered along rows and rows of rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. All of them had either an Asian, punk or random look to them, and nothing seemed to match. There were feathers, gem stones, spikes and beads. Wood, gold, silver and leather.

How was she supposed to choose? _Why_ was she supposed to choose?

Her parents would freak out if they found out she was spending the kind of money this jewelry must be worth...

Emma's eyes narrowed. Wait, why should she even _care_ about that right now?! They were over three thousand miles away, and they couldn't do a thing about it now, could they?!

Emma closed her eyes for a moment, weighing up her options, and then she felt a tug to the right. Not a physical tug, but almost like a...like a _feeling_...was that normal?

_Since when have I ever been normal?_

Emma opened her eyes, and reached across, taking the item from the shelf.

_No, I've never been normal._ She decided, holding her choice in her hand. _I'm a book-worm, and a manga-lover, and a video-gamer, and a shy-guy, and a plushie-collector, and basically just an overall FREAK and, right now, I'm going to buy this damn necklace like the freak that I am!_

Sitting in the palm of her hand was a pendant about the size of fifty-cent coin. It was shaped like a heart, with a pair of golden wings on either side of it, resembling something from _Cardcaptor Sakura_. When Emma handed it to the lady, the red stone of the heart gleamed in the shop lights.

Instead of taking the necklace from Emma, the lady reached out and clasped her hand briefly, making Emma freeze and gulp at the sudden contact.

_What is she...?!_ Emma wondered, just as a sudden flash erupted behind her eyes, like being stung, and she flinched back. The necklace's chain caught around her fingers, and the lady kept hold, too.

The red heart dangled between their fingers, catching the light and throwing red beams off at them.

"You put on and no take off." The lady said calmly, her voice suddenly steadier than it had been before. "I sense great things about you, Emma."

_She knows my name...stalker!_ But, somehow, Emma was not afraid.

"You just need see for self."

Emma was caught in the lady's hypnotic stare, barely aware that people walking past them seemed to be barely aware of _them_...suddenly, all that mattered to Emma was that she suddenly wasn't sure of _anything_ anymore.

Maybe she'd been watching too much anime, or reading too many fantasy novels but, suddenly, Emma's mind was set that anything _could_ be possible. Maybe from the way that this lady was suddenly smiling at her, and placing a "free gift" that resembled Japanese Sultanas into her hand, or the fact that the necklace felt _warm_ in her other hand or, the fact that, when she turned around, the stall and the lady were gone.

"No way." Emma said out-loud but, when she looked at her hands, she knew that it was way.

* * *

At home, in the now air-conditioned comfort of her family's long house on five acres, Emma brought the dog inside. He promptly fell asleep on his rug. Though he had about a thousand nicknames (including Buster, Buddy, Bro, Lad, Oshana and Oshawott) his real name was Ranger, like the blue fox from _The Animals Of Farthing Wood_. He was thirteen this year, going on fourteen, and the vet had said that he was living on borrowed time, which was devastating, but he seemed okay.

At any rate, like Emma, he was happy to be inside, in the cool. The Australian Summer had been merciless this year, with a 42 Degree Celsius Christmas Day, one of the hottest on record. Today was shaping up to be another one of the same, but Emma didn't plan to spend it in the pool with her sister, her cousins, and a glass of red wine.

No, she was going straight back to bed, to maybe have an anime-inspired dream. Maybe about watching another sparring/death match between Itachi and Deidara, or practicing Waterbending with Katara, or kissing Japan/Kiku. Or, maybe she'd just dream about the Whitebeard Pirates, like she had yesterday...yeah, that'd be nice...

But, first things were first. Emma slipped into a more comfortable dress, before taking off her watch and untying her hair. Extreme comfort was what this siesta/cat-nap/kip was all about.

Then, she glanced at her free necklace (she had half-expected the police to come charging after her, or perhaps even Linda Hunt). Deciding to just "go with it", she picked it up, and fastened it around her neck. It felt warm against the skin of her throat, where a fine white scar lay and, when she turned it around, she admired herself in the mirror.

"Dazzling, darling." She told herself, giggling in a way that she never would in public, before remembering the other freebie. Shrugging, she opened up the box, which writing she couldn't read because her Japanese didn't extend to Kanji, and shook out a few strange, green fruit-like raisin-like...things.

In other words, she had absolutely no idea what they were, and was just about to throw them all away, when her hand had other ideas about the weird snack-foods and, quite suddenly, they were in her mouth and she was chewing them.

As soon as they hit her tongue, however, she knew that something was wrong - they tasted terrible, like peanuts, only worse!

Resisting the urge to spit them back out, Emma swallowed without chewing anymore, hoping that she wouldn't throw them back up - that'd be awkward.

She also decided to throw the rest of them out, box and all, and soon they were in the bin under her desk, and she was in her bed, stretched out and smiling in content.

Dreams of pirates, here she comes!

* * *

_Emma was standing in the midst of a scene - like in all dreams, she was suddenly thrust into the middle of it, it being her subconscious and all._

_However...this one felt a little..._too_ real..._

_Normally, she would _like_ her anime dreams to feel real, but this...this was too much..._

_People were dying around her, fighting and dying and all for...what?_

_What could have caused all of this?_

_A hand suddenly grabbed her arm, and she turned to see a blonde-haired man by her side and...wait, were those _wings_ on his back? They looked like fire..._

_"Girl, what are you doing, get out of here!" He shouted to her, just as a bullet rang past his left ear, and Emma gasped despite herself. "Go!" The man with the spiky hair and the anchor-like tattoo on his chest yelled, giving her a push in a direction, and she took off running, wishing that she'd chosen to wear a bra in her sleep and...wait, shouldn't she be wearing whatever she wanted, since it was _her_ dream?_

_Well, at least it wasn't a naked dream._

_She saw men in white uniforms, and men with street clothes dashing about, battling and firing bullets at each other. Some used supernatural powers to fight, and some moved so fast that you could barely see them._

_Emma didn't know where she was running too, _or_ what she was running _from_ but, just then, she felt another tug, and headed in that direction, dodging past the fighting men that only half seemed to see her, intent on killing each other._

_What was going _on_ here?! Why were they fighting with each other?!_

_Emma felt the tug grow stronger, and then she saw it, on the ground in front of her, not ten feet away - a straw hat, with a red band tied around it._

_Emma stopped in the middle of the war-zone, and stared at it, trying to figure out if she was really seeing this one small detail in this all-too-realistic dream she was suddenly having._

_That would teach her to read fan fictions in class._

_A gust of wind suddenly picked up the hat, and carried it towards her. Without even thinking, she reached up and grabbed it, bringing it down and staring at it in her hands in confusion._

_"Straw...Hat...?" She muttered, blinking._

_Suddenly, a voice from behind her shouted out: "She's with Straw Hat Luffy - get her!"_

_There was a lot of shouting from behind her and, half turning, she saw a dozen or so of the men in the white uniforms charging for her._

_She cried out, unable to scream (she'd never known how to scream by herself, only at rock concerts or on roller-coasters) and, without even thinking, she held her arms - and the hat - out in front of her._

_Why was she so scared in her own dream, anyway?_

_Suddenly, a flash of scarlet and gold light erupted around her, blocking the oncoming attack with surprising success - the men coming at her were suddenly thrown off their feet, landing several kilometers away from her!_

_Emma lowered her hands slightly, staring in shock. That power...the energy running through her hands...that feeling of fear, and then adrenaline..._

_That had all been..._real_..._

_She suddenly felt that tug again, and turned around, this time seeing what she was supposed to be seeing._

_A teenage boy with messy black hair was crouched injured, blood pooling around him. Another boy with black hair and a cowboy hat was coming towards him, to intercept something that was flying towards the first boy...a man made entirely out of molten lava...something that was deadly and fierce..._

_"You're mine, Straw Hat!" The man shouted, in a terrible voice._

_It all happened so fast and, yet, for those that were watching, with one girl in particular, it was like time had slowed down, and the motions of everyone and everything were terribly accentuated._

_The Paramount War At Marineford seemed to slow to a stop, as all eyes were glued either on the man of lava, or on the small young woman clutching the straw hat._

_Her body jerked; her head was thrown back towards the sky, and she screamed something that wasn't really quite words, just...a scream. A long, drawn out cry, that seemed to hold the pain of a future that should never be._

_Long red and gold tendrils like ribbons shot out of her body, hundreds of them, wrapping around certain people, and causing more chaos than had been before because, when she and the ribbons had disappeared, so too had all of the Whitebeard Pirates...a few others, too...plus, Luffy and Ace._

_Sakazuki/Akainu stopped his unsuccessful attack, staring at the spot where Fire-Fist and Straw Hat had just been._

_"No..." He couldn't believe it. "NO!"_

_"Wh-what just happened?!" An unlucky nearby Marine chose to ask, and the man of magma chose to kill him on the spot._

_Stepping over the other man's smouldering remains, the angry one stated coldly: "Mark me...when I find that little girl...she'll suffer the same fate as Straw Hat and Fire-Fist..."_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**See, you're learning stuff already. ^^**

**To read the fan fic that Emma's reading, go here: s/4121745/1/My-StrawHat-Adventures**

**Read that book by Tiffany Hall and praise it - or else.**

**I own that necklace, plus a snake bracelet, too.**

**Oshawott!**

**Hot day + sleeping with the air-conditioning on inside = Priceless!**


	2. I'm Not A Doctor!

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

I'm Not A Doctor!

* * *

Emma awoke to find herself sitting up, and listening to a strange dripping noise, which she recognized instantly.

"Oh no!" She cried, jumping out of bed and running from her room, not noticing anything but the fact that the air-conditioning was leaking - again. She thought they'd gotten it fixed but, evidently, not.

It was only when she was in the living room, switching off the air-conditioning, that she realised something was...off.

Looking down at herself, she saw that her feet were dirty. How they had gotten that way, when she'd been wearing shoes all day, she had no idea...until she looked up again, and caught sight of her reflection in the glass door.

"No. Freaking. Way." Emma said, frozen to the spot, her heart pounding. She began to shake, and had to lean on the couch for support, hoping that she wasn't going to faint (a word of advice - don't run just after waking up, unless you are being chased by zombies).

Tentatively, Emma reached up a hand, and touched the hat that now sat atop her head. Made of woven straw, and with a red ribbon tied around it, there was no doubt in her mind about whose hat this was.

"But...that must mean that..." Emma turned slowly, and walked up to her room, unsure of what she would find once she got up there. The lights were off in her room, and the sun was setting, casting an eerie and shadowy glow on the hallway.

Shaking even more now, Emma reached her room, and switched the light on but it didn't work because, she realised too late, the light hadn't been working for a week now, and she didn't know how to replace a light globe.

She sighed, and looked down at her feet again...only to see a pair of glowing eyes staring back up at her.

Emma stared at the glowing eyes, trying to decide whether or not she was really seeing them, and realising that her necklace was now burning comfortably against her throat, its red glow illuminating the room.

She looked up, to see that there were two other small occupants in her room. Small, furry bodies, belonging to...cats.

Great. The _one_ thing her Mother was allergic to.

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly, and stared at one of the cats. What was that dark stuff around it...it looked like it had...

"Blood!" Emma gasped, wondering why her voice sounded so high. Maybe because the sight of blood upset her? Maybe because there were three weird cats in her room...and, one of them was bleeding all over the carpet. "Oh, Mum's going to hate this..." She groaned, closing her eyes briefly to try and decide what to do.

Her eyes were shut, and so she didn't see the cat closest to her ready itself for a jump, and jump it did - leaping right onto her shoulder and startling her out of her reverie. She gasped again, and fell back against the door-frame. Luckily, she didn't fall over.

The cat regarded her coolly with grey eyes, and she took note of the blueish-black cat's darker facial markings, right before he opened his mouth and spoke to her, his voice a soft purr in her ear.

"She'll hate it even more if he dies."

Emma was aware that her mouth was open by this stage, as she stared sideways at the cat on her shoulder. She was unable to do or so anything, as the cat on her shoulder just watched her, calmly.

In contrast to this, was the other black cat's reaction. He wasn't bleeding, and was just slightly bigger than the one that was, but not as big as the one that was on Emma's shoulder. His eyes were so dark that they were nearly black, and his deep voice lacked the coolness of the first cat's.

"So do something before my brother dies then!" He hissed, his eyes on fire. The bleeding cat gave a weak moan, and tried to stand up. Immediately, the angry cat turned to him, and his tone became panicked. "Just hold on, Luffy - it's gonna be okay."

Emma found her voice. "L-Luffy?" She repeated, daring to take a step closer. Why was she so afraid to walk into her own room, anyway? "S-so then...you must be...A-Ace..." She addressed the bigger of the two.

"Never mind the introductions, just help him!" Ace snapped, which stung Emma, until she heard the panic underlying his voice. He was clearly panicking, and Emma suddenly realised where they had just come from.

Somehow, she had interrupted the _real life Paramount War At Marineford_, and brought Luffy and Ace and some other third guy _here_, to _her_ world. To the _real_ world.

If Luffy wasn't currently bleeding out all over her carpet, then she would have fan-girled.

But, why cats?

Dropping to her knees cautiously beside the two cats, and aware that the light was still coming from her necklace and making the blood look even more red, Emma carefully examined Luffy without touching him. "It looks bad...wait, what am _I_ supposed to do?! I'm not a doctor!" She was starting to freak out, but remembered to breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth, just like her Mother had instructed her to do on that nauseating day, nine years ago.

Ace just gave her a Look that clearly said: You're useless.

The cat on her shoulder, however, stated calmly: "I am. You need to do everything I say, or else he'll die."

Emma's heart hammered in her chest. What was _happening_?! She'd bought a pretty necklace (well, she'd been given it for free) and suddenly she had to play vet-nurse?!

Sensing her rising panic, the cat on her shoulder spoke again. "Calm down. You can do this."

Emma nodded numbly and, with a warning glare from Ace the cat, she gently picked up Luffy, cringing when he whimpered in pain. Carrying him down the hall, with his blood dripping onto her hands, Emma was barely aware of Ace following her or of the fact that her necklace had stopped glowing.

Glad that she'd cleaned the bench the night before, Emma carefully placed Luffy onto the shiny, cold black surface, as Ace jumped onto a nearby bench stool.

"What do I need to do?" Emma whispered, unable to make her voice go any louder. this was turning out to be way weirder than she could have ever imagined.

The cat on her shoulder jumped down, and immediately began examining Luffy, carefully using his paws to assess the damage on the smaller black cat's body.

Meanwhile, Luffy had opened his coal-dark eyes, and was trying to get up. "M..." He tried to say, as Ace and the doctor-cat pushed him back down. "My...h...h..."

"Your hat." Emma breathed, and took the straw hat off her head, placing it down on the bench nearby, so that Luffy could see it. "_Daijoubu_..."

Luffy looked visibly relieved as he settled back down again, but he was still in a lot of pain.

The doctor cat looked sharply up at Emma. "You need to boil a pot of water for ten minutes and put fishing line and a needle in there." He told her.

"R-right." Emma stammered, hurrying to grab a pot and fill it with water. As she was transferring it to the stove, the sudden implications set in, and she nearly spilled the water. She was going to have to _perform surgery_, and stitch up the future Pirate King. The only thing she knew how to stitch up was a book in Book Binding classes! She'd failed sewing in year eight!

Gulping, Emma set the pot on the stove which she turned on, before grabbing a pair of gloves from under the sink. They came in their own sealed bag, which was good.

Emma then dashed into the adjacent games room, and grabbed the needle she'd been using for a long-stitch. She was sure that, if her cat-loving Nanny ever found out what the needle she'd leant her was being used for right now, then she would understand.

Coming back out, Emma heard a groan, and then the clicking of toe-nails on the wooden floor - oh no, Ranger was coming out to investigate!

He smelled the unfamiliar scent of a strange animal in his home, and growled, increasing his pace.

Emma immediately placed herself between the cats and her dog and, when she locked gazes with Ranger she said, in a strong voice: "**No**."

Ranger stopped in his tracks, before whimpering, and lying down with his head between his paws.

Emma was surprised, before the doctor-cat's voice cut through her reverie. "Fishing line." He reminded her.

"Oh, right!" Emma exclaimed, placing the needle on the bench, before grabbing Ranger by the collar and yanking him (gently) outside.

She hoped her Father would have some fishing line in his shed.

* * *

As the auburn-haired girl dragged the dog outside, and Ace stayed by Luffy's side, Law continued to check over the smaller cat's injuries, but his mind was on another thought.

So, he hadn't been anywhere near Luffy and Ace at the time - he'd been on his way to Marineford, it was true, when a dozen or so brightly-coloured red and gold ribbons had suddenly wrapped around him from out of nowhere, and then he had blacked out. He had then woken up in a stranger's room, to find himself as a cat.

Well, stranger things had happened.

The girl, whoever she was, was handling this a lot better than most people would, if three talking cats had suddenly appeared in their bedroom. She had panicked a little bit, at first, but then she'd calmed down, although her reaction at the realisation that she would have to sew up Luffy's wounds had been pretty much expected. Her hands were small, though, and she should be able to get the job done if she stayed calm and listened to him.

What was on Law's mind, however, was the fact that the girl had just used _Haoshoku Haki_, although she herself seemed unaware of it. Law had sensed it, though he himself could not use it, but he had recognized it.

Law almost smirked to himself, despite the situation. They'd been turned into cats. They were, quite possibly, in another part of the world or even in an entirely _different_ world. This strange girl, with her glowing necklace and Haki, seemed to have transported them there, though she didn't seem to realise it. What an interesting predicament they had gotten themselves into...he wondered what would happen next...

* * *

An hour and a half later, Emma sighed, and dragged a stack of Harry Potter, Alex Rider, Eragon and Twilight books across the carpet. She had just spent forty-five minutes sewing up the wounds of a black cat that was really a teenage boy as instructed by another black cat that was really the _Surgeon Of Death_, and then another forty-five cleaning up the blood-stains on the wooden floor. The carpet, however, was a lot harder to clean.

She Googled it, and found out what to do - she blotted the stain with a clean cloth, sprayed it with cold water, blotted it again, sprayed cleaning solution onto it, blotted it with a clean dry cloth, then repeated the spray and blot procedure until the stain was not there anymore, before spraying it with the rinsing solution and blotting it _again_, before spraying it with clean water and blotting it AGAIN with a clean cloth.

Now, she was placing the heaviest books in the house on top of the clean cloth she had placed over the whole area, to make sure the cloth stayed there to absorb the remains.

She collapsed onto her bed, feeling exhausted, and knowing that the night was not over yet. She still had to feed to dog, feed herself, feed...her guests and call her parents back.

They had been trying to ring for the last hour, and she hadn't been able to answer. They were going to be _furious_.

She sensed a small movement from the doorway of her room, and then a small black body jumped up onto her bed. She recognized the black cat, and turned her head to look at him.

"H-how's your brother?" She wanted to know.

"He's much better now, thanks to you."

"And Law." She reminded him.

"_Hai_." Ace sat down, and bowed his head politely. "I want to apologize for the way I spoke to you earlier."

"It's okay, you were just worried." Emma said quietly, wondering if this conversation was _really_ happening.

Ace gazed at her. "Even so. I also want to introduce myself formally - my name is Portgas D. Ace, but you can just call me Ace."

Emma sat up. "_Douzo yoroshiku_, Ace. M-my name's E-Emma." Her hand flew to her throat like it always did when she was nervous, and her voice did that faltering thing that she hated. _Stop that!_ She scolded herself. _Now he's going to think you're a freak!_

Ace, however, didn't appear to have noticed...Emma leaned closer when she realised that he wasn't moving, and tilted her head to one side. "He...HE FELL ASLEEP?!"

* * *

Luffy was having the nicest dream. In it, he was in The Land Of Large Breakfasts, and he looked around him in wonder. It was just like he'd always imagined it to be. There was the Sausage Forest with the melting eggs, Pancake Falls and its cousin Waffle Plains, the infamous River Of Honey and, right now, Luffy found himself standing on Bacon Road.

"Yahoo!" Luffy cried, instantly celebrating, especially when it began raining. "It's raining ham! Hallelujah, it's raining ham!" He immediately began to chow down, until he realised that the bacon was...furry? "Augh! Yuck! What kind of a dream is this, anyway?!"

"A nightmare." Said a dark voice, and Luffy awoke to find himself staring into Trafalgar Law's stormy grey eyes. Stormy, because Luffy appeared to be eating Law's tail.

"Oh..._shishishi_...sorry..." Luffy apologized, and let go of Law's tail, before trying to stand up but finding that he couldn't. Also, his entire body appeared to be aching, and...it was covered in...fur? "Huh...hey, wait a minute..." He narrowed his eyes at Law, who regarded him coolly. "_Since when do you have a tail_?!" He cried, and then tried to twist his head back when he felt something move behind him. "_Since when do _**_I_**_ have a tail_?!"

Law sighed. "Since we all got turned into cats and transported to a different world."

"Oh." Luffy stared at him for a moment, before relaxing. Then, he sprung up again, and felt his sides burn in protest. "Wait, where's Ace?!" His heart began to pound in a panic - had Ace escape his execution, or was it too late?! What had happened?! _Where was Ace_?!

Just then, Luffy's ears pricked up, and Law turned his head casually to the sound of a voice yelling: "HE FELL ASLEEP?!"

Luffy began to laugh, but stopped when it hurt. "He's okay." He had never been more relieved in his life, and listened to the sound of footsteps getting closer. His tail flicked in anticipation as he settled back down again.

A young woman came out into the kitchen/family room area. In her arms was a cat that blended in with her black dress and, somehow, Luffy knew that it was his brother.

"Sheesh..." The woman said, in a wind-chime voice that suddenly made Luffy feel better. "What next...?" She suddenly yelped, as Ace burst into flame. "Omigosh, cat's on fire, cat's on fire, cat's on fire!" And, before either Luffy or Law could stop her, she dashed Ace to the kitchen sink and ran cold water on him.

Luffy couldn't help it - he burst out laughing, despite the pain, and even Law was snickering, a very smug smirk on his cat face.

* * *

As soon as Emma heard the laughter, she realised her mistake too late, and turned the water off, locking gazes with a _very_ pissed off Ace.

"_Emma_..."

"Oh, I'm sorry...you're made of fire...I forgot..." Emma sunk to her knees, resting her head against the cupboard under the sink in utter shame. "Augh..."

Ace took the opportunity to climb out of the sink, before jumping onto Emma's head, onto her back, and then onto the kitchen floor, where he proceeded to use his powers to steam-dry himself.

Emma glanced over her shoulder at him, and muttered: "Sorry..."

Ace just sighed, and didn't respond, as he began licking his paws.

Emma turned, and sat with her back against the cupboard, staring up at the ceiling light.

The cats all exchanged a glance, and then Luffy spoke up. "Who are you, and where are we?" He wanted to know, lying on his side and looking down at her, his dark eyes bright despite the pain.

Okay, _that_ was _too_ hid a smile, and replied: "My name's Emma Pax, and this is...hoo boy, where do I begin?" She clasped her hands in a triangle shape in front of her. "Umm, let's see...you're in another world...yeah?"

Luffy's eyes widened slightly. "_Hontou_? Which one?"

Emma shrugged. "I dunno...I didn't even know that there _were_ different worlds...not until..." She trailed off, touching her hand to the necklace around her neck.

Law's eyes followed her hand, taking in the scar and the pendant, and narrowing slightly at the clear abuse she'd been waging on her nails, which were bitten and/or picked nearly down to the skin.

Still, he'd been right about one thing - her small hands _had_ been steady enough to perform the operation on Luffy's injuries, which appear to have been far less worse in his cat-form than they had been in his human-form.

Not that Law had any idea as to _how_ they had ended up as cats, but it appeared to be a blessing.

Law's thoughts were interrupted by Ranger's sudden bark from outside, a deep and baritone bark that seemed to echo from his barrel-chest.

Luffy yelped, and fell from the bench, causing Emma to lunge forwards, and catch him just before he hit the floor.

"_Daijoubu nano desu ka_?" Emma muttered, feeling like she might speak solely in Japanese for the rest of her life because of this. Who would've thought that all of that anime-watching would finally pay off?

"Y-yosh..." Luffy muttered back, feeling dazed.

Emma staggered to her feet, cradling Luffy to her chest. If it had've been almost any other One-Piece-character-turned-cat (like a certain blonde-haired cook, or a revived skeleton) then said cat would've had a nosebleed or something. Luffy, however, just purred contentedly, and fell asleep.

"Aww..." Emma couldn't hide her smile now, as Luffy's tail swished against her elbow.

"Hey, how come _he_ gets the good treatment when _he_ falls asleep?" Ace asked.

"Because _he_ is injured." Emma answered primly, setting about getting her dog's food ready with only one hand, as Law watched her calmly from the bench-top.

"Why don't you run _him_ under cold water?" Ace wanted to know.

"Refer to my previous statement and, hey, I thought you were supposed to be nice to your brother." Emma said, spooning two cups of rice-veggie-pasta mix into the plastic ice-cream container, and putting it into the microwave for thirty seconds.

"He laughed at _me_ before. However,I am but half-joking." Ace replied.

"Which means you're half-serious." Emma rolled her eyes, just as the phone rang for the fifth time that evening. "Oh my God..."

Law noticed that her face had paled.

"What's the matter?" Ace wanted to know, blinking. "What is it?"

"It's my Mother." Emma replied numbly, walking automatically over to the phone and, with a shaking hand, she picked it up. "H-hello?"

Law and Ace watched her with interest, as she conversed with somebody they couldn't see. Obviously, that thing on the wall was like a Den-Den Mushi, except it appeared to be entirely machine. They also understood that it had been ringing on and off for the past hour or so, and that Emma had been unable to pick it up.

Judging from Emma's side of the conversation, her Mother was angry with her due to that.

Emma kept trying to apologize, but kept getting cut off. Eventually, she hung her head, and listened in silence, before muttering: "Okay...I will...yes, Mum...bye..." She hung up the phone, staring at it for a long time, before going back into the kitchen, carrying a _still_ sleeping Luffy. She got the dog's food out of the microwave (which Ace sensed was a thing to heat things up) and gave it to him out the back, before going back inside and sitting down on the couch in the family room, where Ace and Law joined her.

"You didn't tell her about us?" Ace asked, as he jumped up onto the coffee table.

Law took his place at the back of the couch, watching as Emma put the recliner up, and rested her feet on it.

Emma shook her head, carefully transferring the sleeping black cat in her arms to her lap, where he nuzzled against her and slept on. "Hmm...no...she would've freaked out..."

"More or less than what you did?" Law wanted to know.

"_More_." Emma said coldly, and Law smirked. Emma sighed. "Okay, so...what's going on here?"

"That's what _we'd_ like to know." Ace responded, making himself comfortable on a yellow couch cushion. "When I mentioned Luffy's name, you mentioned mine in response."

"Y-yes, that's true, I did..." Emma gulped, knowing what was coming. "Oh jeez, how do I explain this to you...?" She looked across the room, and her eyes fell on the large-screen TV. "A-ha..." She carefully got up, and picked up her new DVD.

"What are you doing?" Ace wanted to know.

"Just watch." Emma replied, turning the TV on and switching it over to the input that was the Blue-Ray Player. "You know, my M-Mother told me off for buying this..." Her hand was to her throat again, but neither Ace nor Law commented on this. "But, I think it's come in handy, now...here..."

The cartoon came on...

If it had been possible, then Ace's eyes would've bugged out of his head, and Emma stole a quick glance at Law - he looked stunned but, when he caught her looking, quickly rearranged his kitty face into a neutral look, though his eyes never left the screen.

"This show has told me about your world." Emma explained, as the theme song played. "It's one of my favourite sh-shows, for l-lots of reasons...it's really cool..." She muttered, blushing slightly. She was secretly trying not to fan-girl - here she was, _finally_ seeing episode one of the Funimation dub, and three of the characters were here with her, albeit as cats...it was a dream come true!

Emma had to check herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

"So, basically, you knew everything about us?" Ace turned to look at her over his shoulder, his gaze suddenly intense.

Emma knew what he was getting at, and chose her words carefully. She wasn't about to lie about this. "Yes, Ace, I do." She gazed back at him, willing herself not to look away. She'd read somewhere that people thought you were lying if you looked away. So, she willed herself to hold his gaze, and he gazed back at her, before turning back to the screen, which was showing Luffy springing free from the barrel.

That reminded Emma, and she tried to stand up and remove the sleeping cat from her lap, but he dug his claws into her arm, so she had no choice but to carry him into the kitchen, and get her dinner with only one hand.

"Ace, Law-San, what'll it be?" Emma asked, opening up the fridge, and then she quickly rectified her question. "Wait, never mind, I'll just make something, because I haven't got a lot of stuff right now..." _How the Hell am I gonna be able to afford to feed Ace and Luffy?!_ She panicked.

Ace glanced at her again. "Huh? Why not?"

"Umm, just because." Emma muttered, taking out a frying pan. "I haven't been shopping in awhile, since I didn't expect an c-company...plus, my parents are away so it was s-supposed to b-be just m-me, and...yeah..." _Why can't I stop stuttering when I'm around them?!_ She cursed herself, getting out oil and paper towels and plates. "Bacon and egg on hash-browns sound okay?" _It had better be, because it's just about the only thing that I can cook!_

"What's a hash-brown?" Ace wanted to know.

"It's made of potatoes, and is a substitute for toast or bread." Emma explained, getting out the egg carton - they always had plenty of eggs, getting four a day and all from their hens.

"What's wrong with bread?" Ace asked her.

"Law-San doesn't like bread." Emma replied, and Law smirked.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He turned back to the TV, and watched as his little brother's cartoon-self called the pirate Alvida 'fat'. It was Ace's turn to smirk, as he settled down to watch.

* * *

Emma wouldn't usually use a knife and a fork to eat hash-browns and eggs and bacon - if she was by herself, that is. Now, in the company of three pirates-turned-cats, she felt like she should at least act like a lady.

Emma swallowed the last piece of her hash-brown, and then eyed her bacon, which she'd been saving for last.

A furry black paw snaked across the table, heading for the bacon.

Emma stabbed her fork onto the table in front of the paw, and Luffy yelped.

"Mine!" Emma snapped, cramming the rasher into her mouth, much to Luffy's disappointment.

"But Emmy, I'm _hungry_!" Luffy complained, pouting in a most-adorable way.

Emma softened. "I'm sorry..." She then watched as Luffy used his powers to steal some of Ace's bacon. _Then again..._

"I swear if you weren't in bandages right now, little brother..." Ace threatened, and Luffy grinned a kitty-grin, with a mouthful of bacon.

"You know you missed me!" He chirped, and Emma smiled, standing up and collecting the now empty plates.

As she was carrying them to the dishwasher, she heard Ace say: "Now, hold on a minute, Luffy - if you jump from up here then you'll rip your stitches out!"

"He's right, Luffy-ya." Law spoke up, from where he was licking his paws clean. "If you do too much running, jumping, stretching or whatever else you like to do, then you'll tear your stitches and start bleeding again."

"And die." Emma spoke up cheerfully from behind the counter, where she was putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Yes, and die." Law agreed.

Ace glared at both of them.

Luffy just shook it off. "No fair...when can I start doing the things I like again?"

Law considered. "Well, judging by the nature of your injuries that you sustained as a human, I'd say three weeks."

Luffy looked horrified.

"However, you're not in a human body anymore..." Law sounded thoughtful, as he sat down on the table, his tail swishing. There were so many questions, and so many possibilities. "The fact that an amateur could stitch you up perfectly proves that your injuries grew less severe in your new body."

_Did he just call me an amateur?_ Emma's eyebrow twitched. _He should see what I can do with an imposed stack of A5 papers!_

"So, what you're saying is that this is a blessing in disguise?" Ace questioned.

"Pretty much, Ace-ya." Law replied calmly. "I would say Luffy-ya should be healed within a few days, at most."

"Yay!" Luffy cheered, doing a happy little cat-dance, as both Ace and Law rolled their eyes. The two bigger cats turned back to each other.

"So, what now?" Ace wanted to know.

Law shrugged as best he could, and then they both turned to look at Emma, as she straightened up.

Emma froze, instantly reminded of the scene from one of her favourite movies, _The Lion King_, where Simba and Nala say: "Pleeeeaaaase?"

Emma then sighed, and placed her hands on the bench. "I don't know h-how you guys got here. I had a dream about the w-war at Marineford, and everyone was rushing about, Marines and p-pirates were killing each other..." She shuddered. "A man with fire wings told me to run, so I did..."

"Marco..." Ace muttered.

"Then, I came across Luffy's h-hat," Emma picked it up off the bench, and Luffy's eyes lit up. "And th-they thought I was with him, so they a-attacked me, so then...I dunno h-how I did it, but..."

"The ribbons..." Luffy said suddenly, and everyone looked at him. He explained: "I remember seeing a whole lot of red and gold ribbons flying about, and somebody saying something about a demon..."

"Me, a demon?" Emma blinked. "Now that's just rude." She shook her head. "I guess I _did_ send a whole bunch of Marines flying without knowing h-how, so..." She closed her eyes, remembering. "Then, I saw Luffy and Ace...and..." She gasped, closing her eyes tighter.

"Emma?" Ace asked her.

Emma kept her eyes shut, remembering the feeling of fear as she'd seen Sazakuzi heading for Luffy, and Ace about to jump in between them. "That man...Sakazuki...or, Akainu, or whatever you want to call him...he was about to...and then..." She opened her eyes, and was surprised to find tears brimming in them. She swiped at them quickly, and looked at Ace before looking away. "Anyway, that didn't happen, you're fine, I'm gonna go and have a shower!" She left the hat on the bench and beat a hasty retreat, leaving the three pirates looking stunned.

_She knows something..._ Law realised, and remembered the way that she had looked at Ace. _So, those ribbons that transported me, at least, here _were_ her doing...hmm..._

* * *

Emma dried her hair with the hair-dryer, wearing a towel over her underwear. She worked hard to dry it properly and then brush the knots out of it.

She then looked at herself in the mirror, and was surprised to see Law standing on the bench of the vanity area to her left.

She gasped. "You scared me!" She set down her hair-dryer and looked at him. "What's up?"

"I have some questions for you." He stated simply, prowling across the bench, noticing the messy array of make-up and jewelry.

"I'll bet you do." Emma muttered, adjusting her towel self-consciously.

Law appeared not to notice this, as he stopped by the sink, and regarded her. "You know all about us, but we don't know anything about you."

Emma was surprised. "Wh-what do you want to know?" She asked him.

"Where did you get that necklace from?"

"Umm, the scariest lady this side of the river." Emma muttered. Law just stared at her. She elaborated: "I went shopping today and there was this lady with a stall set up in the middle of a shop, and she told me to choose something, so I did...I-I just sort of l-let fate decide..."

Law nodded. "What did this lady say to you?"

"Umm..." Emma looked away, embarrassed. "She, umm...told me to put it on and not take it o-off...she said she knew g-great things about me, _and_ she knew my name, which is really weird." She closed her eyes, and saw the lady's blue eyes in her mind. "Her shop vanished when I turned my back, which is even weirder..." She opened her eyes, and looked at Law.

"Anything else?" The cat asked her calmly.

"No." Emma replied. Then: "Yes! Omigosh! That...oh my God!" And, as Law watched, Emma started panicking. "Oh no, oh no, oh my Lord, oh God, why oh why oh WHY?!"

Law just waited.

Emma sunk to her knees on the floor, not caring when her towel slipped down (she was wearing underwear, so it was fine). Her heart was pounding, as she held her hand to her chest, and stared at the blue tiles that reminded her of the sea. "That...the...they...it...we...us..." She sat with her back against the cupboards.

"Ah, Emma?" Ace had appeared at the entrance to the vanity area, and Luffy poked his head around the wall (Emma didn't bother asking how he'd gotten down from the table). "Words correct put please order into?"

Emma gave him a Look, as Luffy bounded over to her and into her arms. He put his paws up against her collar-bone, and looked at her in the eyes. "What's wrong?" He wanted to know.

Emma gave him a sad smile. "Oh, nothing, Luffy...I just realised that I ate a Devil Fruit today, and now I'll never be able to swim again..." _Damn that scary lady, she knew it, didn't she?!_ Emma thought, her anguish at not being able to swim ever again over-ruling her joy at now having a special power, at least for now.

Ace and Law stared at Emma in shock, but Luffy looked thrilled. "Really?! Yosh, that's so cool! _Shishishishi_!" He nuzzled up against her neck. "Now you're just like us! You should join my crew! What power did you get?! You're my nakama now!" He then promptly fell asleep.

_What the Hell_?! Emma, Ace and Law all thought in unison, especially Ace because it was usually him that fell asleep unexpectedly.

Then again, Luffy _had_ had a pretty big day - he'd gotten out of Impel Down, stormed Marineford, and nearly lost his brother. Now, he was in another world.

Emma carefully placed Luffy down on the pillow on the other side of her bed, and placed a mink-fur shawl over him.

"Emmy..." Luffy said sleepily, and Emma glanced at him. "Where's...my hat?"

Ace suddenly bounded into the room, holding the hat in his mouth, which Emma took from him and placed on the bed between Luffy and a stuffed toy rabbit called Rabbie. "Here, Luffy..." Emma said.

"_Shishishi_...thanks..." He muttered, before falling back to sleep.

Emma and Ace exchanged a smile, but there was a hint of shared sadness.

* * *

Emma sat on the couch, drinking warm milk and watching the news that she'd taped that evening.

She narrowed her eyes at the screen. "Great. Murder, rape, the bashing of another elderly person...what the Hell is _wrong_ with the world these days?" She leaned back after setting her cup down on the coffee table, unaware that Law was watching her from the doorway. "Still, now that I know the other world exists...which is worse? This world has nuclear war...but, the other world has Devil Fruit powers...evidently, so do I, now, but...North Korea, or the World Government?" She stared up at the ceiling. "I'll bet Ace is worried about Whitebeard and the others, but isn't showing it...I wonder what's happened to the Heart Pirates...and, the Straw Hat Pirates...I'm glad I stopped Sakazuki from killing Ace...Luffy's mind would've shattered, and I couldn't bear it. I just...hope that the Blackbeard Pirates don't kill Whitebeard...like they were going to..." Her eyelids began to close, as she fell asleep on the couch. "I hope..."

Law jumped up onto the arm of the couch as the red-head fell asleep. He calmly regarded her as she slept. For some reason, she reminded him of Luffy - they were both unbearable at times when they were awake but, when they were asleep, they were tolerable.

More than that, though...Law couldn't quite figure it out...he didn't quite now why but, when he looked at her peacefully sleeping form, she looked...angelic.

Like an angel with black wings, considering what she'd said she'd done at Marineford. Law smirked.

He was also keen to know how her dream had managed to transport her to their world. As he continued to watch her (being a creepy, stalker-kitty without actually meaning to) he watched her shift slightly, and her soft pink lips (no, wait, they were just normal lips, he told himself) formed the words: "Marines..." She sounded scared to death but, even as she was terrified in her sleep, her voice still had that melodic tone to it.

Law watched as the heart-shaped pendant around Emma's neck began to glow, and realised what was happening...

* * *

_To say that Sakazuki was upset was an understatement - the man was _furious_, and working hard to keep his temper under control, to avoid killing another fellow Marine like he had before. They were back at an undisclosed location, and he was currently pacing._

_His fellow Admirals, Kuzan and Borsalino, stood with their backs to the large window, and Sakazuki barely noticed them, or anything else, as he paced._

_"What I don't understand," Sakazuki said gruffly, his fists clenched at his sides as he paced. "Is how _nobody_ can tell me where that _child_ came from!" The memory of the red-haired girl still burned in his mind - she had stood in his way of destroying Fire-Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy but, unlike most people that did that and whom he considered to be merely irritating obstacles, this girl had warranted a world-wide search for her identity. The search had come up with nothing, much to Sakazuki's frustration. "The power she exhibited...nobody has heard of it...just _what_ is she?!"_

_"It's true that we don't know who she is or where she's come from." Kuzan stated calmly. "I've never seen nor heard of a power like hers."_

_"We don't know where she or the others went, eiiither..." Borsalino drew out the last word of his sentence. "It seems she aided in the escape of not only the sons of Dragon and Roger, but also the other Whitebeard Pirates, too."_

_"Vice Admiral Garp appears to be missing, as well." Kuzan added. "Like the others, he disappeared into the red and gold ribbons that girl was using."_

_Sakazuki sighed. "When I find that girl, I'll..." He turned around, and stopped speaking abruptly._

_The other two Admirals also turned, to see the girl in question standing on the railing of the balcony, wearing that same black dress and sporting a milk-mustache._

_She stared at them._

_They stared at her._

_"I'm not a kid, I'm twenty-three nearly." She said clearly, in a soprano voice that was currently seething, though all three men could hear the fear underlying her words. She directed her tone at Sakazuki. "And how old are _you_ - eighty-seven?"_

_Sakazuki was the first to react, activating his powers, and his fellow Admirals followed suit._

_Faced with magma, ice, and light, the girl visibly paled. "Okay, I want to wake up now!" She exclaimed, in a ringing voice, just as she was enveloped by red and gold ribbons, and vanished just as quickly, much to Sakazuki's fury and Kuzan's and Borsalino's confusion._

_"She...did it agaaain..." Borsalino drawled. "She's certainly not a kid."_

_"Aye..." Kuzan agreed._

_Sakazuki was too furious to say anything._

* * *

Emma awoke suddenly, gasping, her heart pounding. She shook her head quickly, and noticed that it was starting to get light outside. Law was sitting on the arm of the couch, staring at her, and she wondered if he'd slept at all.

Well, there was no time to worry about that now - she had to wake up Ace and tell him what she knew!

Hurrying down the hall, with Law following at a more leisurely pace, Emma entered her bedroom, and stopped, smiling at the sight of the two brother cats curled up together on her bed.

"Aww..." Emma said, and Law watched her reach for her camera (it was the smallest, silver-est, strangest-looking camera he had ever seen, but he sensed that's what it was). After taking a photo and mumbling something about 'blackmail', which made Law smirk, she walked over to Ace and quietly said his name. When he didn't respond, she said it louder, and prodded him. He still did not wake up. She frowned, and shook him a bit harder. Still, he slept on.

Law watched in amusement as Emma picked up Ace, and shook him slightly.

He didn't even stir.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Emma stalked out to the vanity area, with Law at her heels. She dropped Ace into the sink and turned the water on.

* * *

After Ace had steam-dried himself, and Law had instructed Emma to put a bandaid on her face where Ace had scratched her, Emma proceeded to tell Ace what she had learned in her dream.

At first, all Ace could do was express his relief that his crewmates - especially Captain Whitebeard - were safe, but also a bit of concern that perhaps they were stuck in this world, and as cats. The thought of Whitebeard as a cat suddenly flickered in their minds, and they all three of them coughed to hide snickers.

However, he and Law seemed concerned about something _else_, too.

"It seems like you'll be transported to our world every time you fall asleep." Ace commented seriously, looking at her.

"Huh?" Emma blinked.

Law nodded in agreement. "It also looks like the World Government is aware of your existence, and considers you a threat." His eyes darkened slightly. "They won't let you get away so easily next time."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Emma asked them both. "Not fall asleep ever again?"

Law and Ace exchanged a glance. "Just be careful."


	3. An Interesting Day

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

An Interesting Day

* * *

The three cats watched as Emma dashed about, feeding the dog, putting books in a backpack and getting dressed (well, they didn't actually _see_ that bit, but she disappeared for awhile and then came back, dressed in black jeans and a medium-blue blue singlet with a long black jacket and scarf).

"Well, I'm off now, so I'll see you later!" She said, grabbing a Mocha Chill out of the fridge since she couldn't be bothered making a coffee.

"Hold it!" Ace cried, barring her way into the laundry.

"What?" Emma gave him a Look, and then she remembered. "Oh, right, your breakfasts..."

"And yours." Law reminded her, as she walked into the pantry, grabbing the first thing that she came across, which happened to be tuna. Oh well, at least it was meat (with sweetcorn and mayonnaise!).

"Nah, I don't need breakfast, I'm gonna be late." Emma assured him, spooning tuna into three bowls.

Law narrowed his eyes, and vanished into the laundry. He reappeared a moment later, carrying Emma's keys in his mouth.

Emma stared at them. "How did you know I need them to leave?" She asked him.

Law didn't respond, and Emma sighed. "Law-San, I _cannot_ be late today, now _give me back my keys_."

Law's eyes darkened and the space around them turned blue; in that instant, Emma looked down, and saw that her right hand was detached from her body.

She gasped, seeing it floating next to Law, and moved her fingers. They moved, but she couldn't bring her hand back.

It was disconcerting.

Law gazed at her. "You were saying?" He said.

"I was saying that I'm going to need my hand back if I'm going to make myself a piece of toast." She responded weakly, and Law's smirk grew.

* * *

While they ate, Emma dared to ask: "Say, Law-San, you...don't like being told what to do, do you?"

He didn't respond, but his eyes flickered over to her in confirmation.

"How come?"

He shrugged. "I don't have to give a reason."

"Fair enough." Emma sighed, and then clasped her hands (she'd gotten her right hand back, thank God, and hadn't dared to look at her right wrist when Law had detached her hand, even though it hadn't hurt). "Well, can I at least I ask a favour."

"Such as?"

"Can you _please_ keep an eye on these two brothers while I'm out today?" Emma begged him.

Law raised an eyebrow. "Ace too?"

"_Especially_ Ace, but ESPECIALLY Luffy!" She emphasized.

"I think it would take a power greater than I."

"Law-San, _please_!" Emma bowed her head, overly-dramatic. "I don't want my parents to come home next month and find that all their alcohol's gone!"

Law sighed. "Sure."

Emma smiled. "So...what do you three intend to do now?"

The three cats stopped eating, and stared at her.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked her, sounding surprised. "We're staying here."

"Yeah, you're our nakama now, mainly mine, of course!" Luffy added. "You're gonna join my crew!"

"I never said that." Emma stated.

"No, I did." He replied simply.

Law narrowed his eyes slightly, but calmly said: "It seems we have nowhere else to go and, somehow, you brought us here."

Emma just stared at him.

He smiled. "Looks like you're stuck with us, Emma-ya."

Emma didn't say anything, because she was busy thinking about all of the problems she now faced, like what to do when her parents got home, and how to turn these three back into humans. She just finished her toast, and grabbed her coffee.

"Where are you going, anyway?" Ace wanted to know, as he finished his tuna.

"TAFE," Emma responded and, when she was met with blank stares, she elaborated: "It's a place where people go to study a certain trade, so that they can get the qualifications of that trade in order to gain employment ACE WHY ARE YOU ASLEEP AGAIN?!"

"Narcolepsy." Law stated, prodding Ace with his paw. Ace fell over and continued sleeping.

Emma and Law dead-panned, and then the dining room clock struck once, signaling that it was half-past seven.

"Aiyee, I'm gonna be late!" Emma cried, grabbing her backpack off the floor. "Stay out of trouble! Bye!" She grabbed her keys and dashed out the door.

Law watched her go, smiling.

Ace suddenly woke up, stretched, and yawned. "Ah...hey, where'd she go?"

"Out." Law replied.

"That's great..." Ace looked around him. "Where's Luffy?"

"He jumped into Emma's backpack when she wasn't looking." Law tried not to smirk, and failed miserably. This was too good.

Ace nodded. "He jumped into Emma's backpack when she...HE WHAT?!"

Oh yes, this was _priceless_.

* * *

At the station, Emma didn't have the luxury of waiting for a W-stopping pattern, which would have ensured her a seat by the window on the riverside. She was forced to go for the C-stopping pattern, and there were never any seats on an express train during rush hour, so her feet were hurting as she walked swiftly through the city. She reminded herself that she had martial arts that evening, and that she should save her energy, but the prospect of being locked out of one of her favourite classes forced her to keep walking, that is until she paused briefly to change songs...and heard a small meow.

Fearing the worst, Emma turned to face a corner, slipping off her backpack and opening it up...

It was just like the scene from last night, when Luffy bursts out of the barrel only, in this case, he was a cat, and he burst out of a backpack.

Emma nearly screamed, but checked herself just in time, as the little black cat with the bandages sat on the straw hat he had somehow managed to stash into her bag, grinning cheekily.

"Hello, Emmy!" He chirped.

"Ssh!" Emma hissed, glancing around, and hoping that nobody could hear the talking cat. She looked back, and leaned in, speaking in a very low voice. "Why did you stowaway, Luffy?" She asked him.

"Well, to be honest, I wanted to see what your TAFE-place was like, Emmy." Luffy replied, trying to see past her. "Is this it?"

"No, we're not there yet." Emma told him, and then face-palmed. "Wait, did I just say 'we'? You are _not_ coming with me, Luffy, I have to take you home, right now!"

"But, what about your classes?" Luffy wanted to know.

Emma groaned. "Oh, I _know_...okay, _fine_!" She told him, and held up her finger firmly. "But you have _got_ to keep quiet, understand?" Luffy nodded obediently, still smiling. "You can ride in my pocket, if you'd like." She added, and opened up the pocket of her jacket. Luffy immediately climbed in, and snuggled up.

"It's _warm_!" He exclaimed.

"Ssh!" Emma hissed again, glad that she'd decided to wear her snake bracelet today. She took the straw hat, and shook it out to get its shape back from being crushed into her backpack, and put the straw hat on her head. "If anyone asks, it's International Dress Like A Pirate Day..."

"_Shishishishi_! That sounds cool!"

"_Ssh_!"

* * *

Somehow, Luffy was able to keep quiet all morning, but maybe that was just because Emma had promised him meat if he didn't let the cat out of the bag (literally).

The morning class was fun - they covered the books that they had bound the week before, and glued cardboard shapes they cut out onto the covers, to be covered with a fabric and pressed in a way that embossed the shapes. Emma gave hers a solar-system-type look.

In the second class, they worked on their interactive comics. Emma's was coming together nicely, if she did say so herself (and, she did), but she was having trouble animating a ball of pink wool - the lecturer helped her with it, and she added a bouncing sound-effect, which was hilarious.

Luffy was good as gold, and kept quiet. The temptation of meat must've been enough to make him go OOC.

When leaving the TAFE, however, Emma made the mistake of taking the exit she didn't usually go by, and overhearing a conversation.

"What was with that hat she was wearing?" Emma recognized Georgia's voice, and froze.

"She said something about International Dress Like A Pirate Day." Sam replied. "Like, you know, Straw Hat Luffy?"

"Oh, right, that anime." Georgia laughed. It was a mocking sound. "That's weird."

Emma lowered her head, and walked back inside.

"Emmy?" Luffy whispered, poking his head out of her pocket.

"Luffy..." Emma muttered back, before making a decision. She went back into the classroom, which was empty save for a girl in the corner of the classroom who was watching a rock video with headphones on. Emma took Luffy out of her pocket, much to his surprise, and set him on the desk, before she put on a pair of prescription sunglasses. She then glanced at her right shoulder, and sharply tilted her head to the left a bit.

Luffy's face lit up, and he jumped onto her shoulder. Emma then turned and left the classroom, walking straight past fellow classmates Lillica Janes and Trudy Carmichael.

They did a double-take, shocked.

"Was that...that girl?" Lillica blinked.

"With a..._cat_?" Trudy faltered.

"...Nah..."

* * *

Emma walked calmly through Perth City, ignoring the stares that she got. Luffy was looped around her neck, and he purred contentedly, happy to pretend to act like a normal, non-talking cat, albeit a very smart one. Emma didn't know how long it would last, but she didn't care. She was feeling ticked off with what Georgia had said about her and, apparently, so was Luffy.

After buying some tuna sushi and Terriyaki chicken from a nearby shop, and sitting down on some steps outside the church, and after chowing down on the chicken gratefully, Luffy had to speak his mind.

"Oi, Emmy." He whispered to her.

"What?" She whispered back, pausing in her eating of the tuna sushi. _Must...eat...tuna..._

"That red-haired girl is your rival, isn't she?" Luffy said flatly.

Emma blinked in surprise, before nodding slowly. "_H-hai_...she is..."

"I thought so." Luffy said thoughtfully. "Why didn't you confront her about it?"

"Some fights just aren't worth it."

"I can respect that."

They finished their meal in silence (Luffy ate three out of the eight sushi rolls), and Luffy was silent as Emma got rid of the rubbish, before walking a few paces to her right, and staring in silence at a random, very expensive store.

Luffy swished his tail, before crawling off of Emma's shoulder, and she instinctively put her arms up, and found herself cradling him in them.

"Cheer up, Nakama!" Luffy grinned up at her.

"Ssh!" She hissed, but in a softer tone, and she was smiling. It was hard to stay melancholic around Luffy. That was when she had an idea. "Hey, Luffy...if you can promise to keep quiet some more, I'll take you to my favourite shop in this city, okay?"

Luffy looked excited, and nodded happily.

* * *

Back at home, Law and Ace kept themselves busy while they waited for Emma and Luffy to return. They had managed to convince themselves that the two out there would keep each other out of trouble, but who knew?

Both of them decided to explore the house, completely ignoring the fact that it was quite possibly an invasion of privacy. Both of them wanted to know more about their host.

They didn't have to look far, no matter what room they were in - the house was full of things.

Photos were stuck to the fridge with magnets. There were pictures of Emma with other people, mainly a girl her own age and a girl who was a little bit older, and a younger boy. There was a picture of Emma in an excessively grand yellow ball-gown, a dark-haired girl in a kimono, and another girl in a red wig and a mermaid costume. There was a picture of a sunset and some dark palm trees, a toad, some elephants in a pond, two pictures of the ocean and, for some odd reason, one of a giant chess set. There were pictures of two older people, possibly Emma's parents. There was even a picture of Ranger, dressed in board shorts, a t-shirt and sun-glasses, and standing on a surfboard.

"She loves photography." Ace commented, admiring that sunset.

"She also has a sense of humor." Law remarked dryly, glancing over his shoulder to where Ranger was staring at him from outside.

They moved on to the dining room, which had the same blue carpet as Emma's room. Black leather couches provided comfort, and dining cabinets stood at the walls, filled with glass plates and more photographs. An easel sat on a small coffee table by the window, with a half-finished painting of...something. There seemed to be a lot of blues and pinks and whites in it, though. A piano stood against one wall, and a song caught Law's eye.

Jumping up onto the piano stool, and then onto the piano itself (the keys he stood on played the first few chords of _Fur Elise_), he examined the lyrics.

_~O~O~_

_No one, could ever see,_

_The best of me,_

_Somehow, all I can ever show,_

_Are the things no one wants to know..._

_~O~O~_

_Please take, my hand,_

_Tell me that you understand,_

_I need a new start,_

_I need you to heal my heart..._

_~O~O~_

As Law was studying this, he realised that he should have been keeping a better eye on Ace because, a second later, he heard an exclamation of: "I found the key to the liquor cabinet!"

Law whirled around, standing on the keys that played the _Jaws_ theme. "Don't you _dare_!"

* * *

Luffy was barely able to keep his mouth shut - it was hanging open, but no sound came out, as he sat up very straight on top of the straw hat on Emma's head, staring in wonder at the shop that was _Empire Toys_. Manga, anime and plushies and actions figures were _everywhere_, and he didn't know where to look first. Emma took her time browsing through the shelves, grinning over the cute guys on the front of the manga covers, and splurging by deciding to buy the new _Sailor Moon_ manga _and_ volume thirty-five of One Piece. Her first volume of One Piece had been volume four, starring Captain Kuro.

She then realised that her own black cat wasn't on her head anymore, and panicked, leading her to scour the entire shop from top to tail, before finally finding him in a box-full of plushies.

"Luffy!" She hissed, checking to make sure the shop-keeper wasn't watching. She turned back to the box, to discover that Luffy had found something.

"Emmy, look, it's me!"

* * *

"She sure buys a lot of manga." Law commented, prowling along the shelf.

"Ah, hey there, Miss Kitty, haven't we met somewhere before?" Ace joked, brushing up against a Hello Kitty plushie.

Law ignored him, reading the titles on Emma's manga. "Fruits Basket, Sailor Moon, Mamotte! Lollipop, One Piece...oh."

Ace joined him on the shelf immediately and, together, the two of them wrestled out a particular volume, volume 59 to be exact.

They opened it up to the start of the chapter, and Ace read the title of the chapter.

* * *

Emma walked through the city, carrying Luffy in one arm and the purple bag containing two manga and the Luffy plushie, wondering what her parents would say when they found out.

With some difficulty, Emma adjusted her sunglasses, and headed towards the Cloister (Cloyster) Arcade Newsagency to buy a chocolate before heading back to class.

However, no sooner had she walked into the store, when a lady who worked there barred her way and said that she was not allowed in, because of Luffy!

"Cats are not..." She began, and then peered closely at Emma. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Emma nearly died. She'd done a job trial here a few years back, but hadn't gotten the job. She didn't want the lady to know that, and just ducked her head and mumbled sorry. She then turned to leave the store, thankful that her sunglasses hid her face.

She came face-to-face with a gun.

* * *

Faith was worried, although she would have rather bitten off her own tongue than let her fellow associates know, and she managed to remain poker-faced as their boss entered the room.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

Boss did not have poker-face.

"We lost track of her somewhere in Ultra-Space." A man with long white hair and a blue face stated - Father Time.

Boss rubbed his temples with both hands, before adjusting his dark sunglasses. "Anything _else_ you idiots forgot to tell me?"

Everyone looked at Faith, and she looked at Karma.

"Do _not_ blame this one _me_, Faith!" Karma was a cool young woman with golden blonde hair that sparkled like money. "You're the one who _had_ to invite a girl to take a Leap!"

"Inviting people take Leap Of Faith is what I do, Karma!" Faith's blue eyes flashed angrily.

"And being a bitch is what _I_ do." Karma replied, smirking in a way that would have put Trafalgar Law to shame.

"Be that as it may," Boss said, with the air of one who is trying to remain calm. "Faith, you've taken a big risk, opening up a portal between these two dimensions. There's no telling _what_ she'll do, if she manages to get to World 192853746."

"You mean the 'One Piece World'?" Luck, a young red-haired boy dressed all in green, asked. "What are the odds that she'll actually _get_ there?"

"One in a kajillion, for somebody normal." Chance, a silver-haired teenaged boy with blue eyes said in a monotone. "But, she's not normal."

Boss glanced at Luck. "Let's hope that you're on our side. I don't like those odds one bit."

* * *

Emma stared down the barrel of the gun, feeling her blood run cold. This was _not_ happening...no, wait, it was...people behind her froze, and a few people gasped. Nobody ran, however, because of the gun.

In her arms, Luffy had gone very still.

Emma stared at the gun, not really seeing the person holding it, until he spoke to her. "Where do you think _you're_ going? This is a robbery, straw-hat-wearing-cat-lady. Get back inside."

Emma didn't move - she couldn't, for she was frozen to the spot. Of _all_ places she picked to go into, it just _had_ to be the one that gets held up at gun-point!

"Didn't you hear me, bitch?" The man growled. He was wearing a balaclava. She couldn't see the colour of his eyes from behind her sunglasses. "I said, _get inside_! I have gun, and I _will_ use it!" He held it at level with her forehead. "I've shot people younger than you before, and I won't hesitate to do it again! I mean it, I'll fucking shoot you if you don't move!"

Emma suddenly raised her head. "Really? Then why are you still talking? Guns aren't for threats, they're for action!" Her heart was hammering in her throat, which had gone dry. What was she _doing_, mouthing off to a guy holding a gun?!

People behind her gasped. There was a spell she had set on the moment, a young girl defying a gun-wielding bandit, and nobody had ever seen anything like it before.

The man with the gun growled again, not able to understand why she hadn't moved yet. Didn't she care about herself at all? He moved the gun down, until it was pointing directly at the bandage-wearing black cat in her arms. "Then why don't I just shoot your pretty kitty instead?" His fingers curled around the trigger.

Emma gasped, and the spell was broken. "**NO**!" She screamed and, before she knew what she was doing, she'd swung her free fist out and it connected with the man's jaw.

She then ran.

She ran straight out of the shop, turned right and bolted down the street, ignoring people who called out to her, and pushing through crowds of people. She didn't stop running until she reached the outside of the State Library, where the water ponds were.

There, she collapsed to her knees by the water, dropping her shopping bags and nearly dropping Luffy, but he clung on, and looked up at her with a bit of concern, as she gasped for breath.

"Emmy?" Luffy asked her.

"He...was...gonna...shoot...you..." Emma struggled to see. _Breathing first, talking second..._ She instructed herself, and took deep breaths, in through the nose, and out through the mouth.

Luffy gazed up at her. "You okay?" He asked finally.

Emma nodded, and took off her glasses, to reveal tears in her eyes. "I was _really_ scared!" She admitted.

Luffy stared at her, before nuzzling against her chin. "You shouldn't have been, that was _awesome_! Did you get that line from Shanks, too?"

"No, actually, I got it from you." She told him. "I've only seen that part of the episode where you said it to Usopp. It sounds cooler coming from you, than it does coming from me, though."

"No, you sounded cool, too!" Luffy informed her. He stared seriously at her. "See, you are _perfect_ for my crew! You're brave, smart, funny and creative - you're _perfect_!"

Emma just blinked at him. Nobody had ever called her _those_ things before. They'd used other words, instead - words like pathetic, and freak.

Emma looked down at the cat. "Really? You...you think I'm...perfect?"

Luffy nodded.

She could see nothing but sincerity in his eyes.

Tears filled her own eyes again, but this time they were happy tears. "Luffy, my man...you are the _best_!" She hugged him tightly, until she remembered his stitches, and let him go quickly. The two of them grinned sheepishly.

* * *

Emma and Luffy arrived home at around five o'clock, and announced their arrival with: "_Tadaima_!"

Emma then proceeded to drop everything she was holding, including Luffy (who landed on all-fours, of course), and stare in horror at Ace, who was passed out drunk, and surrounded by bottles of expensive Midori, Riccadonna and Tequilla.

Law entered, and Emma immediately pounced on him. "YOU! You did this to me!" She screamed, shaking Law furiously. "What happened to keeping an eye on them while I was gone?!"

Law just looked at her. "Luffy-ya stowed away while you were still home."

"That _doesn't_ explain the drunk cat that drank five hundred dollars worth of my parent's alcohol, Law-San!" Emma glared at him, as Luffy prodded Ace with his paw incredulously.

Ace just moaned.

Just then, the phone rang, saving Law from the situation, though Emma kept a firm hold on the scruff of his neck, much to his displeasure.

Emma answered the phone and said: "Hello." Then: "Oh. _Oh_. Oh? Ohhhh..." It was amazing how many different ways she said the word 'oh'. Her first one had sounded blank. The second one had sounded sympathetic. The third one had sounded suspicious. The fourth one had sounded understanding. She ended with: "Okay then, I'll see you soon. Bye!" She hung up the phone and dropped Law, who landed on his feet and glared up at her, but Emma seemed preoccupied.

"Problem?" Law asked coolly.

"No, not really." Emma replied. "One of my friends is sick and can't make it to our lesson, which has been moved to six, so I have to leave now."

She fed the dog in record time.

"What kind of a lesson, Emmy?" Luffy wanted to know, as she bolted down the hallway.

She returned a few minutes later, and both Luffy and Law stared at her. She was wearing a grey wudang uniform, and had a white belt tied around her waist.

"Martial arts." She said simply.

* * *

"So, what's wrong with Mayling?" Emma asked Krystal, as they waited for the mixed-belt's lesson to finish.

"Not sure." Krystal shrugged. She was a tall girl with olive skin and golden brown hair. Some would consider her attractive or even beautiful, but she didn't care about that. Her friends and family and career were all that mattered to her, not finding true love. "It sounded like a cold."

"Well, I hope that she feels better soon." Emma replied, slipping off her shoes. "We have grading in a few week's time."

Krystal nodded in agreement, just as the instructor called them all out onto the mats, and they hurried to join the other white belts.

Everyone bowed to the black-belt instructor, and the lesson began.

Emma wasn't happy, since it seemed that the dojo's air-conditioning was leaking as well, but she was also happy to be doing something she'd wanted to do since she was a child.

It started with warm-ups, which Emma hated, and then moved on to practicing self-defensive techniques, which she loved. She loved learning how to stop someone from grabbing you, and to stop them from hitting you by getting them into a head-lock.

Then, they moved on to developing their different kicks and punches, which Emma had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it was vital. On the other, she often had no idea what she was doing, and it made her feel nervous. Kicks especially were her nightmare, as she didn't have very good flexibility. Not like her sister, who was practically double-jointed.

Having Krystal there helped, however, and they went through their sets together - jab-cross-jab-roundhouse, and things like that.

Presently, one of the purple belt co-instructors came around to test them, holding the pads against her arms for them to punch or kick into.

When she got to Emma, she smiled, and said: "How about showing me your best jab-cross-jab-hook."

Emma nodded, wetting her lips, and getting into her fighting stance, which she'd found was helpful for staying balanced on trains when they were moving and/or jerking to a stop. "Okay...right...here goes..." She jabbed with her left fists, crossed with her right, jabbed again with her left, and then came around for a right hook.

An image flashed into her mind of what had happened that day and, without meaning to, her right-hook came out a little bit harder than was intended.

The purple belt instructor staggered slightly, and glanced at Emma. A few of the other instructors and a few other students glanced their way, as well.

Emma wanted to sink into the floor, as she took a step back, and that was when another fellow student chose that moment to say: "Aren't you the girl that punched that gunman in the city today?!"

"_Whaaa_?!" Emma cried, stumbling back in shock, and slipping on the puddle that had been made by the air-conditioning.

As she fell back and hit her head on the wooden benches behind her, she heard that same student mutter: "No way, it couldn't have been her..."

_Oh, this is gonna be GREAT for my rep..._ Emma realised, as she blacked out.

* * *

_A big tan and grey cat stood, with his fur bristled, and hissing at a dog who was growling at him._

_Actually, there were about six dogs ganging up on him, but one in particular was about to go in for the kill. A sign nearby read_ Elizabeth's Second-Hand Bookstore_, and there was a big box of donuts that the cat appeared to be guarding...wait, since when did cats guard donuts?!_

_Since now, apparently, as the cat opened his mouth, and stated: "Back off, you mangy mutts - these donuts are MINE! Bwa ha ha ha ha!"_

_He leapt at the leader of the dogs, which leapt at him..._

* * *

Emma awoke suddenly, seeing many faces swimming into view, with the most prominent one being Krystal's.

"Emma, thank God!" Krystal gasped, grabbing her arm. "Are you okay?"

"_H-hai_...I mean, yes...I am..." Emma mumbled, feeling embarrassed at having so many people crowded around her. The back of her head throbbed, and she knew that she would have a bruise there. _I can't believe I tripped..._

Emma stood up slowly.

"Emma, are you sure that you're okay?" Krystal asked her, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, I'm fine...don't worry about me..." Emma shrugged off the concerns, going over to her Sasuke Uchiha bag and drinking from her water-bottle. Everybody watched her, like she might faint again. "What? I'm fine, really. I'd better go...I want to go home and lie down..."

"Are you alright to drive?" Somebody said.

"_Yes_!" Emma replied, as Krystal hurried walk her out to her car.

She ended up staggering, and the instructors made her wait for half an hour before leaving.

Krystal then followed her halfway home, to make sure nothing bad happened to her.

It's good to have friends.

* * *

Back at home, it didn't end. Emma got some dinner for her and the cats, who watched her quietly. Well, Luffy and Law did - Ace was still out of it, and muttering something about '_Bink's Sake_'.

Law was sitting on top of the kitchen counter and, when Emma knelt down to put the plates in the dishwasher after dinner, her hair fell to one side, revealing the back of her neck.

Law narrowed his eyes. "Emma-San, what happened?" He asked sternly, as she glanced back up at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked tiredly, standing up and holding onto the kitchen counter for support.

"You know very _well_ what I mean." Law replied. "You were injured in class, weren't you?"

It wasn't a question, and Emma simply nodded.

Law's voice darkened. "Who hurt you?" He asked, as she continued to look at him without really seeing him.

"Nobody hurt me, Law-San." She said soothingly. "I just tripped and fell back and hit my head on some wooden benches, that's all."

Law glared at her. "Let me see." He commanded.

Emma sighed. "Okay. Come on, then." She led him out of the room, followed by Luffy, who was curious. "I...I think I need to lie down..." She said suddenly, and looked pale.

How she had made it home alright, nobody would ever know.

Law's eyes widened slightly. "Go to your parents' room." He suggested, and she obeyed, trudging up there to where the king-sized bed was.

She lifted Luffy up onto the bed, and Law jumped up by himself. Luffy snuggled down onto the soft golden doona, as Emma merely collapsed onto her stomach, and Law came up beside her.

The doctor cat pushed her hair out the way, and carefully examined the wound on the back of Emma's head. He didn't say anything, but just examined it, before tsking to himself.

Emma, meanwhile, was feeling very sleepy and, so, when Law asked her what she wanted, she said that she wanted to sleep for a year.

As she was closing her eyes, she added: "Oh, and we're going into Fremantle tomorrow, so make sure to let Ace know that he's not allowed to have a hang-over."

"And why's that?" Law asked, as Luffy sleepily nuzzled up against Emma's neck.

"Because his Grandfather won't like it if he does." Emma replied and, as she was going off to sleep, she felt Luffy freeze-up beside her.

"WHAT?!"


	4. Dine And Dash

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

Dine And Dash

* * *

"Emma, tell me again why we're doing this?" Ace groaned, as he sat on the dashboard of her car, which she was currently driving out of the driveway.

"Because yours and Luffy's Grandfather is in Fremantle, and we're going to go and find him." She explained patiently, sliding a CD into the player and turning the volume down.

"Yeah," Luffy the cat, who was sitting in the passenger seat in his own straw hat, looked up at her. "But, what we don't understand, is _why_..."

"What do you mean, '_why_'?" Emma asked them, as Lifehouse began to sing. "He's your _Grandfather_ and, besides, I'd really like to meet him." She smiled, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Why on earth would you want to meet _him_?" Ace asked in disbelief. "He's...well, to put it lightly, _insane_."

Luffy nodded in agreement.

"Ace, Luffy, you two have _no_ idea how lucky you are to still have a Grandfather." Emma scolded them, turning onto the main road. "Why, I'd give up my right hand to have one, and don't even _think_ about it, Law-San." She added, and said cat smirked from his place on the passenger-side floor.

"You don't have a Grandfather?" Luffy asked.

Emma shook her head. "No, I never knew them...well, I had a Step-Grandfather, but he died when I was eleven." She smiled a bit sadly, thinking of him - he'd been a huge and hilarious Englishman, and she had been upset when he'd passed away from lung cancer caused by smoking, which is why she couldn't stand cigarettes.

"So...how old are you now?" Ace asked suddenly.

"Nearly twenty-three." Emma replied, and then gasped. "Hey, hang on, you don't ask a lady her age! Didn't Garp ever teach you two any manners?!"

Both Ace and Luffy shook their heads. "No, not a thing." They replied in unison.

Emma turned onto Solomon Road, and rolled her eyes. "Well, we'll have to rectify that, won't we? I hope we find him today...I'd really like to meet him, face-to-face..." She trailed off, slowing down when the car in front of her was turning, before adding: "I saw a picture of him from the past, in the anime, and he looked just like you and your Dad, Luffy! Very cool!" She added.

"Our Grandfather?" Luffy and Ace were in disbelief. "_Cool_?"

"Uh-huh." Emma grinned, as she turned into the train station car-park. "That was back when Monkey D. Garp was still a spring chicken!"

"A spring chicken?!" Luffy and Ace cried, and Ace toppled off the dashboard, landing on Law, who was not pleased.

"Mmhmm." Emma nodded absently, as she pulled into the last parking space, wondering if she could have possibly parked any _further_ away from her destination. God, how she _hated_ walking! "Okay." She said, parking the car and turning it off. Turning to the three cats, who were staring at her silently, she went on: "Let's lay down some ground rules here."

* * *

Emma sat on the train, listening to her I-Pod, and very aware of the three cats that were nestled in her shoulder bag. She hoped that Ace and Law would be able to keep Luffy quiet, and had promised to let them out once they got to Fremantle. Wandering around the port-town with three cats wouldn't look _too_ out of place...would it?

Emma sat there, listening to her music, and ignoring the people who were staring at her. She had a feeling she knew why they were looking so strangely at her. Not because of the fact that she was dressed all in black again - short boots, stockings, short pleated skirt and singlet - but because she was wearing the straw hat again.

She saw a few people muttering to each other, and wondered if they were talking about her, and maybe even about what had happened yesterday.

_I can't believe I punched a man in the face...I've never hurt a person physically before..._

As the train left Esplanade, a teenage girl (why wasn't she in school?) approached Emma, and held out a newspaper. "Excuse me?" She said, as Emma took out one earphone. "Is this you?"

Emma looked at the article the girl was showing to her. The headline read: **Straw Hat Wearing Cat Girl Punches Armed Robber!** A byline read:** She Had The Fist, She Had The Courage!**

Emma gasped. "Augh!" She cried and, grabbing her things, bolted from the train.

"Smooth, Emma-San, very smooth." She heard Law mutter sarcastically.

"I know, I know, I'm such a _baka_!" Emma muttered, her face red as she ran through the train station.

* * *

On the Fremantle Line, she could relax because, epically, there was nobody else in her carriage!

"Yes!" She cheered, relaxing in a seat. "This hardly ever happens!"

"What hardly ever happens, Emmy?" Luffy asked her, poking his head out of the bag.

"You hardly ever get a train with nobody on it, Luffy." She explained, forgetting completely about the security cameras on the train, as Luffy hopped out and onto the seat next to her.

He put his paws up on the window, and looked out in amazement. "_Sugoi_..." He breathed.

"Yeah, you wait'll we get to Fremantle, Luffy." Emma also turned, and knelt on the seat, so that she could rest her elbows on the windowsill. The scenery sped by. "With a little bit of luck, you can stay out for the entire trip." She added.

The bandage-wearing cat grinned, as the other two cats joined them in looking at the scenery.

A voice-over on the train said: "This train runs from Perth to Fremantle, stopping at all stations to Claremont, then express to Fremantle."

"Yes!" Emma cheered quietly. "I just hope that nobody gets on at the next seven or so stations...here's hoping that we're lucky today..."

* * *

Elsewhere, Luck himself was listening to another meeting.

"We've located her, Boss." Karma said.

Boss turned his head towards her. "And?"

"It's not good." Karma sounded slightly gleeful. She really _was_ a bitch!

"Oh dear..." Father Time shook his head. "What now? What's she going to do?"

All eyes turned to Faith.

She looked defensive. "This not my fault! I not know that she follow me! She go to World 192853746!"

Boss sighed. "I had a feeling that she would. What does she plan to do there?"

"She probably plan to send more to World 790412." Faith replied, thinking of the chaos that would cause planet Earth if she did.

"It's _your_ fault for getting that human girl to take a Leap Of Faith in the _first_ place, Faith!" Destiny snapped. She was a tall woman with pale skin, blue hair and dark eyes. "That girl's powers altered what was supposed to be, and now everything's been thrown out of whack!"

"Yeah, Faith," Fate, a raven-haired girl with dark skin, leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm. She was smiling. She always was. "What are you going to do if she sends the Marines to World 790412?"

"That human girl already sent half the Whitebeard Pirates and a whole bunch of others to there." Destiny muttered. "She saved people who were _supposed_ to die."

"You not set in stone, Destiny!" Faith snapped, standing up suddenly. "You what people make you!"

Destiny just glared at her.

Boss sighed. He could feel another headache coming on, and wondered if asking Faith to bring him some more Boss Coffee from Japan would be asking for too much. Faith and Destiny were glaring daggers at each other.

A voice suddenly spoke up. "Hey, everyone, perhaps we're being a bit too mean to everyone here?" Beautiful music suddenly filled the air, and almost everyone tried to block out the sound immediately, as Cupid strummed his lute. "Perhaps _I_ may be of assistance...?"

"NO!" Boss shouted, causing Cupid to stop playing his melody. "Cupid, for the love of, well, love, don't you _dare_ interfere! The _last_ thing we need is for that human girl to fall in _love_ with one of those humans from the other world, or for one of _them_ to fall in love with _her_!"

Cupid sat down, looking pouty, but met Faith's eyes across the table. The two of them shared a silent conversation, as Fate spoke up again.

"Boss, what about the, err, furry little problem?" She said.

Boss nodded. "Yes, I was getting to that. Somebody track down Twister." There was a collective shudder. Nobody liked the white-skinned, cloak-wearing man that could alter the reality of certain things. Like turning them into cats, for instance. "Get him to do something about changing them all back...and somebody, _please_, keep an eye on our _other_ problem...let me know the _moment_ she makes contact with the Marines..."

Everyone nodded, but a few were thinking angry thoughts at Faith who, along with Cupid, seemed to have vanished.

* * *

Emma walked out of the train station with Luffy in her arms, and Law and Ace following her. She got quite a few stares, due to the three black cats and the straw hat, but she pretended not to notice, and just stopped on the corner, to get her bearings.

Ace jumped up onto her shoulder, and said: "So, where did you say you saw our Grandfather, again?" He had decided that he wanted Emma to meet Garp after all, so that she could see for herself just how insane he was.

"At Elizabeth's Second-Hand Bookstore." Emma replied, turning her head in a direction. "I'm not sure which one it was, though - there's more than one, of course."

"Of course." Ace agreed.

"Let's try all of them, then." Law suggested, trotting off towards the town center, and Emma followed, interested to see if Law knew where he was going which, it turned out, by some miracle, he did.

* * *

Luffy, Ace and Law waited outside while Emma went inside and casually asked the shopkeeper if he'd seen a big tan and grey cat, since she was missing one. They looked around, though not _too_ far, since they didn't want to get lost.

Emma came back out, shaking her head, and they resumed their search, walking through the mall and down a side street, where there was another book-shop next to a restaurant, which Luffy disappeared into, while Law looked around, and Ace waited with Emma, because there was a massive line - everyone seemed to want to buy a copy of _Fifty Shades Darker_, for some reason.

While Emma opened up said book to a random page and was instantly scarred for life, Ace waited by her feet, and suddenly felt something roughly petting the back of his head.

"Hey kitty-cat, hey!" A little kid who couldn't have been more than three grinned.

As Emma put the book back and commenced with asking the shop-keeper if she'd seen a big tan and grey cat, Ace turned to glare murderously at the kid. "You laying a finger on me kid, you're _toast_!" He threatened.

The kid whimpered, and stood up, moving back to grab his Mother's hand. "M-Mummy..." He muttered, as Ace continued to glare up at him.

"Not now, Curtis, Mummy's reading." She was totally absorbed in the erotic book.

Emma sighed, and thanked the shop-keeper anyway. "Come on, Ace." She said, turning to go.

"See ya, kid!" Ace said to Curtis, before jumping up onto Emma's shoulder as she exited the shop.

Curtis was stunned.

* * *

Outside, Law was waiting for them, and Emma looked around. "Okay, where's Luffy?"

Law didn't know.

Emma sighed again, pushing her sunglasses up as she imagined all the kinds of trouble Luffy could get himself into.

Just then, there was a commotion from the restaurant next door and, in unison, Emma, Ace and Law exclaimed: "Luffy!"

Law jumped onto Emma's shoulder as she dashed next door, to find the cooks chasing a small, bandage-wearing black cat around the dining establishment, as the patrons to the restaurant watched on in shock. Some gasped and jumped up onto chairs like they'd seen a mouse, others laughed and pointed in amusement at the little cat that was holding a steak in his mouth - it was practically bigger than he was!

As Luffy stopped to devour the steak, and Ace and Law just stared at him in shock, Emma groaned. "I am _not_ seeing this..." She muttered.

By this time, Luffy had finished his steak (somehow) and the cooks were closing in on him but, just then, Luffy spotted Emma.

He meowed happily, and bounded over to her, jumping into her arms - they had the move perfectly synchronized.

The problem was, the cooks then turned their attention to the girl in the straw hat and prescription shades.

"That was _your_ cat?" One of the cooks asked. He was holding a butcher's knife!

"He just ate over a hundred dollars worth of prime-cut meat!" Another cook complained.

Emma flinched, and took a step back, mentally writing Luffy a Death Note. "Umm, err, well..." She stepped back out onto the footpath, with the cooks advancing upon her. "DINE AND DASH!" She yelled, and took off running to her right, with Luffy in her arms and Law and Ace clinging to her shoulders, and a bunch of angry cooks chasing after them.

Luffy was laughing: "_Shishishishi_! That was _fun_!"

"You call this _fun_?!"

A big kitchen knife whizzed past her head, making her yelp.

"Yosh!"

Make that _two_ Death Notes.

* * *

While Ace berated Luffy for endangering them all and turning Emma into a felon (not that any of the three pirates _really_ had a problem with this, whatsoever), Emma had collapsed onto a park bench, and was in a state of complete emo-ness.

"Now I can _never_ join the police force and own a German police dog named Rex." She complained.

"Why would you even _want_ to do that?" Law asked her, standing on the back of the bench and regarding her calmly. He wasn't at all fazed by the situation that had just transpired.

"Is your name _really_ Law?" She muttered, and then added: "_Don't_ answer that."

Law just smirked.

Meanwhile, Ace had finished scolding his little brother, and was currently watching a pair of women walking along, talking about the Fifty Shades series.

"I'll have to go to the warehouse on Queen Victoria Street." One of them was saying, as she sighed dramatically. "I simply _must_ find out what happens to dear Anastasia!"

"Hopefully that Elizabeth's will carry it, or else we'll have to order it online." Her friend agreed, as they walked off.

Ace raced back to Emma. "Emma!" He jumped up onto her lap. "Is there another Elizabeth's on Queen Victoria Street?"

Emma stared at him for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Yes...yes, there is." She stood up, and Ace jumped onto her shoulder. "Let's go." She said and, placing her sunglasses in her bag and transferring the straw hat to sit against her back on its chord, she started walking, leaving the other two cats to follow her.

* * *

At the warehouse, Emma approached the young shop-keeper, while the three cats looked around for any sign of Luffy and Ace's Grandfather-turned-cat.

"How will I know your Grandfather when I see him?" Law wanted to know.

"Because he'll probably try and attack all three of us as soon as he sees us." Luffy replied, feeling slightly nervous about meeting his Grandpa again.

Law raised an eyebrow, his usual smirk on his face. "And, this is a man that our host is _dying_ to meet, Luffy-Ya?"

"Seems that way." Luffy shrugged. "Who knows, maybe weirdness attracts?"

Law's smirk grew.

Meanwhile, Ace was prowling under the tables of the warehouse, so named because it was far bigger than the other two book-shops. He happened to catch some of the conversation going on between Emma and the shop-keeper.

"Dig the hat." The young man grinned.

"Th-thank-you." Emma stammered, tugging self-consciously at the string.

"Going for the whole 'One-Piece-Look', are we?" The boy teased.

Emma blushed. "H-how did you know?"

"I've read the entire manga up to where it is," the boy told her, leaning across the counter. "I've been trying to talk my boss into getting the manga in here, so that we can convert as many people as possible."

Emma laughed a little - Ace noticed that she was fidgeting nervously with his brother's hat, and her hand was at her throat. "What did he say to that?"

"Oh, the usual," the boy shrugged, and put on a very manly voice. "Stop wasting time with these childish books!" He laughed, and Emma joined in - this time, it was a genuine laugh.

"Yeah, my parents say the same thing." She confided, and the boy nodded.

"So, what can I help you with today?" He asked her, still smiling at her in a way that, for some reason, Ace didn't like.

"Oh, I'm looking for m-my cat, h-he was lost around here recently." Emma explained, back to being nervous. "H-he's a fairly big cat, but not t-too big, and h-he's tan and grey..."

The boy stared at her for a second, before he laughed. "You mean he's _yours_?" He seemed to find this funny.

Emma looked surprised, and then thrilled. "You mean you've seen him?!"

The boy nodded. "Sure, he's been here for a couple of days, harassing the dogs that roam here and whatnot - if you want, I can help you try and find him?"

This time, Ace was _sure_ he didn't like the way the boy was looking at Emma.

Emma looked shy all of a sudden. "Oh, umm...I..." She was nervous. She didn't want to be impolite, but it would be better if it was just her who went out looking for Garp.

Ace decided to help her out. He immediately bounded up to the counter, and jumped onto it, placing himself between Emma and the store clerk.

He turned his head to glare at the boy, a warning in his eyes, and then pricked his ears up at the sound of Emma's voice.

"Ace?" She asked questioningly, holding out a hand to the black cat.

As he carefully rubbed up against her arm, the store clerk looked surprised. "Ace? As in, the guy from One Piece?"

Emma nodded, as Ace hissed at the store-clerk, and she picked Ace up quickly. "Yeah, can you tell, I'm obsessed?" She began to back away. "I'm sorry, but I'd better go on my own, seeing as how he doesn't like you and all." She bowed her head. "_Sumimasen_. Law-San, Luffy, let's go and find Garp!"

Upon hearing their names, the two other black cats appeared from within the shop, and followed Emma out the door, leaving the store clerk speechless.

* * *

Once out on the street, and waiting for the lights to change so that they could cross the road, Emma grilled Ace.

"Ace, _what_ was that all in aid of?" She wanted to know.

Ace wouldn't look at her. "That guy was looking at you..."

"Well, where else did you want him to look?" Emma asked him, confused.

Ace muttered something in Japanese too fast for her to pick up, but then he added: "He was flirting with you, you know?"

Emma was shocked. "Oh." Was all she could say. Was she really so clueless that she couldn't figure out when a guy was being nice to her because he fancied her? What an idiot she was!

It didn't help when, by her feet, Law began to snicker, and Luffy chimed in with: "~Ace was je-alous! Ace was je-alous~!"

"Sh-shut up!" Ace cried. If he had been in his human-form, then he would've blushed. "I was _not_ jealous!"

Law smirked. "Could've fooled me." He muttered, but there was a slight hint of darkness in his voice that nobody else noticed, as they crossed the road together and walked towards the harbor.

Emma gazed sadly out at the ocean, staring at the beautiful blue waves. All of that lovely water that she adored, and she could never swim in it again. What _was_ her Devil Fruit power, anyway? Ace had a rare one that allowed his body to turn into an element, and other people like Marco could transform into animals. Then, there were people like Luffy and Law, who had anything and everything in-between Logia or Zoan - Paramecia. What would hers be? It'd better be cool, like being able to shoot lightning out of her eyes or something, or else she was going to demand a refund for the fruit that she hadn't even paid for!

Ace, Luffy and Law were all walking in a line on a guard rail, reminding Emma of the scene from _The Aristocats_. She reached into her bag, snapped a quick photo, and returned the camera to her bag, pulling Luffy's hat onto her head when she realised how hot it was. The last thing she needed was to get cancer again...

So busy was she in thinking about this, as she walked down some steps towards a small sandy cove. Now, all that was visible from the level she had just been on was the straw hat.

Something, Emma didn't know what, made her turn around, just as something large and grey came flying at her.

"Ah." Was all that she could say, as whatever it was hit her, sending her flying back and onto the sand, and the straw hat went flying off her head as she landed on her back. Luckily, she'd been taught how to fall properly if ever pushed over backwards, and used her hands as a break.

She was left staring in confusion at the same cat she had seen in her vision yesterday - Monkey D. Garp, in the flesh...err, fur.

Emma gasped, as the feline stood on her chest, blinking at her in confusion, and then he sat down, looking apologetic.

"Ahem." Garp coughed into his paw. "i apologize, young lady but, you see, you were wearing my grandson's hat, and I just naturally assumed that you were him."

Emma was at a total loss for words. When she'd said that she wanted to meet with Garp face-to-face, this isn't exactly what she'd had in mind! So, she just stared at him, as the other three cats came running over.

"Grandpa!" Luffy gasped, as Ace and Law just stared.

At the sound of Luffy's voice, Garp turned his head around fast and, upon seeing his grandsons as cats, his fur bristled. "_So_! _You two got transformed too, did you_?!" And, he leapt at them, claws extended. Emma, however, had predicted this, and leapt up as well, crash-tackling him from behind and managing to pin him on his back under her.

"Now, listen here, you!" She told him. "You are _not_ allowed to attack your poor grandsons with the "Fist Of Love", got it?! Luffy is very badly injured after that bloody war at Marineford I know because I stitched him up myself, and Ace is...uh, _resting_..."

"Resting "hung-over", resting "got-doused-with-water"...which is it?" Garp wanted to know.

"Uh..."

"Try all of the above." Law muttered, before adding: "Emma-San, you've got the old man in a very compromising position there."

Emma glanced down, realising that it was true, and immediately got up, blushing and dusting the sand off herself.

Garp got up too, and shook himself clean, before turning to glare at his two grandsons (Luffy hid behind Ace). "So, tell me, how did you two morons get yourselves into this?" Ace jabbed a paw at Emma, and Garp turned to her. "And, who might you be?"

"M-me?" Emma blushed. _Oh, great, after all this time saying how much I wanted to meet Garp, I'm not able to even introduce myself to him?!_ "I-umm-I...err..."

Just then, Luffy let out a yell, and they all turned to him. he looked panicked. "Emmy, where's my hat gone?!"

"Oh no..." Emma muttered, realising that it had been blown off her head...where had it gone?!

They suddenly all four of them looked up, when they heard a growl, and the dog that Emma had seen attacking Garp yesterday was standing looking down at that, surrounded by its pack.

The big dog, a Doberman crossed with a Greyhound crossed with a Pit Bull and then given Steroids, directed his growl at Garp, who hissed back.

"Friend of yours, _Ojīchan_?" Ace asked casually, moving back so that he was moving Luffy away from the fierce dogs, which would either try to eat him or Luffy would try to eat them.

"He's just sore because he lost a box of donuts to me last night!" Garp laughed. "Bwa ha ha ha ha!"

"This is no time to be laughing!" Ace shouted.

Just then, Luffy noticed something important in a smaller dog's mouth. "Hmm...hey, that big dog's friend has my hat!" He shouted, running forwards but Ace crash-tackled him.

"Don't do it, Luffy, you'll tear out your stitches!" Ace cried, struggling to contain his brother. He looked over at Law. "Why don't you put your powers to good use and _do_ something!"

Law rolled his eyes and sat down in the sand. "Don't wanna." He replied flatly.

"What the Hell?!" Ace couldn't believe it.

Meanwhile, Emma had stood up, and both she and Garp were watching the growling dogs. Emma noticed that the leader had a scratch across his eye.

"The beast attacked me while I was sleeping," Garp explained, as if reading Emma's mind. "And now he's got some vendetta against me."

"Can't imagine why." Emma rolled her eyes.

Just then, the leader of the pack gave a warning bark, and jumped down onto the sand, heading straight towards them.

Luffy gasped, Ace cursed, Law just sat there, and Garp growled: "Bring it on!"

But Emma, who'd had enough, hurried to place herself between the attacking dog and the cats. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" She shouted, holding her hands up. Then: "**Stop**!"

Then, to everyone's surprise including her own, the dog _did_ stop, standing there, panting and growling like he was rabid.

"Easy, easy boy..." Emma said, more gently now, and the dog stopped growling, blinking and staring at her in surprise. "That's it..." She took a step forwards.

Immediately, the dog's pack jumped down from the ledge, and all of them began to growl at her.

The leader turned his head and barked once, a short and sharp warning, and the rest of the pack immediately stopped growling. The dog turned his attention back to Emma.

"Now sit."

The dog half-sat.

"_Sit_..."

The dog sat all the way, and so did the rest of his pack.

"_What_?" Ace gasped.

Emma smiled, and patted the dog's head. He immediately began to wag his tail. "You got injured when the big nasty grey cat scratched you, didn't you?"

The dog whined.

"_Excuse me_?" Garp spoke up.

The dog immediately growled at him.

Emma sighed. "Look, the thing is," she said, still talking to the dogs, like the cats weren't even there. "That hat is _kind of_ the most important thing to one of my friends here so, do you think you could, maybe...give it back?"

The dog tilted his head to one side, and then looked at the dog with the hat in her mouth. She was a golden retriever. She whined, and walked forwards, just looking from her leader to Emma.

The leader growled slightly, and then looked back at Emma.

"Now drop the hat." Emma commanded the girl dog.

She didn't move.

"_Drop it_."

The girl dog seemed to sigh as she did so, and then lay down on her stomach.

Emma walked over and picked up the hat, smiling but then grimacing. "Yaurgh..." She muttered, as a big string of drool hung from the hat's brim.

Luffy gasped.

The dog huffed.

Emma wiped the drool on the side of her bag, trying not to think about it, and then smiled. "There, we're fine now." She said.

"Yay!" Luffy cheered, and dashed up to her, scrambling up to sit on her shoulder as she put the hat on her head. He faced the dogs. "Is this your territory?" He asked them, and their leader nodded. "Well, we won't interfere with your territory any longer, how about that?"

The dogs exchanged a glance, and then barked and/or howled in agreement.

Emma and Luffy grinned. "Good." They said in unison.

As they bid farewell to the stray dogs, the others watched them from a few feet away.

"So, Ace, mind telling me who that girl is?" Garp was watching this girl interact with his grandson.

Ace shrugged. "Her name's Emma. We just appeared in her bedroom in this world the day before yesterday, and she took us in and cared for us after Law told her how to stitch up Luffy's wounds."

Garp glanced at Law, who nodded.

"Yeah, and...?" Garp turned back to Ace, who was staring at Emma.

Ace sighed. "She really wanted to meet you, _Ojīchan_ - as soon as she had a vision about you, she made us all come here to find you."

"_Ace_!" Emma cried, stalking up to him and getting up close so that she could glare at him. Garp noticed the unusual way that his grandson tensed up when this girl got up close to him. "You were _not_ supposed to _tell_ him that!" She then noticed Garp staring at her. "Yaaa!" She backed away quickly, looking around as if the sand could tell her what she was supposed to say next. She then bowed her head. "_Watashi wa hijō ni o ai dekite ureshiku omoimasu_!" She told him. Then: "C-can I call you Grandpa?!" She gasped, covered her eyes with her hand. "Oh boy..."

Garp stared at her for another five seconds, before he burst out laughing, hardly able to stand up due to his laughter. Between this, he managed to say: "_Mochiron_...what an interesting young girl..."

"Hey, I'm twenty-three nearly!"

"Even so!" When Garp had calmed down, he wiped the tears from his eyes with his paws, and asked her: "So, have you any interest in become a Marine, Emma?"

Before Emma could respond, Ace and Law said in unison: "Hell _no_!"

And, Luffy added: "No way, Emmy's joining my pirate crew, _Ojīchan_!"

Ace gave his little brother a Look. "Wait, who says she's joining _your_ crew, Luffy?" _I think she'd make a better Whitebeard Pirate, and I'm sure _Oyaji_ would agree with me..._ He didn't know why but, already, he liked this girl. She reminded him of Luffy, but in a slightly more tolerable, kind of cute way...wait, did he just think she was cute?

"I think she'd be much better suited to becoming a Heart Pirate." Law said calmly, slightly eager to stir things up.

"I _knew_ it!" Luffy jumped down onto the sand, the fur on his back standing on end. "You both want to take _my_ Nakama away from me!"

"_Ne_, Luffy, your stitches..." Emma fussed, but her words fell on deaf ears. She then glanced up, and saw a positively murderous Garp. "Uh-oh..." She muttered, remembering scenes from the anime, and the manga.

"You insolent fools!" Garp cried, and all eyes were suddenly on him. "Trying to force a poor young woman to become an outlaw, a _felon_! It's unforgivable!"

"Ah..." Ace began walking backwards, and Luffy followed suit. Law just stood there, staring at them as Garp advanced upon them.

"Run for it!" Luffy and Ace yelled in unison, and bolted, with Garp right behind them.

Law and Emma watched in silence as Garp chased his grandsons around the beach, and then Emma glanced down at Law. "_Ne_, Law-San...you really think...I'd be a good Heart Pirate?"

Law looked up at her, smiling calmly. "I said it, didn't I?"

Emma looked away. "None of you...know anything about me, Law-San..." She muttered, touching a hand to her necklace, and then to her scar. "Really...HOLY GOD, FREAK WAVE!" She screamed, as a massive wave came and washed over Luffy, Ace and Garp. She gasped and jumped up, racing over to stop Luffy and Ace from being dragged out to sea.

Law watched all of this, smirking all the while. _No, but I will._ He thought to himself, closing his eyes calmly at the thought.

* * *

Later that night, Emma called her parents, and ended up having a fairly civil conversation with them.

They told her about the winding snake road called The Great Ocean Drive, and about the fancy yellow Lamborghini they had seen (Sunstreaker!).

She omitted to tell them most of her day, from waking Ace up from his hang-over by running water on him in the sink to having to sit on the train with people staring at her and her four cats, and said she'd had a quiet day sleeping and then watching anime, which they seemed to believe.

"How much have you had to drink?" Lee asked suddenly, startling Emma and making her fumble with the phone.

When she got it back up to her ear, she said: "Umm, what was that, Mum...?"

"Don't lie to me, now tell me how much you've been drinking while we've been away." Lee said firmly.

"H-how much I've been...drinking...?" Emma muttered, and four sets of eyes zoned in on her. "Umm...not...a lot?"

"_Emma_."

"Mum, I _said_ not a lot!" She snapped.

"Good." Lee replied. "Because, when I get home, I want there to be _everything_ there where I left it, understood?"

"Yes, Mum." Emma mumbled, her shoulders sagging. "Bye." She hung up the phone, and then turned to face Ace. "PORTGAS D. ACE, _KOROSU_!" She screamed, and lunged at him. Ace yelped and took off running, with Emma chasing after him as she grabbed a serrated knife off the counter. "GET BACK HERE SO I CAN NEUTER YOU!"

Garp started laughing, from where he was sitting on the couch next to a plate of rice crackers.

Luffy called out to Emma: "_Ne_, Emmy!"

Emma stuck her head back in the door, and Ace paused from halfway down the hall. "Luffy, _don't_ say you still want Ace to be a man at the end of the evening." Emma warned him.

Luffy shook his head. "_Iie_, not that." He said, and Ace's heart sank. That traitor. "I just wanted to know if we can go outside tomorrow, and explore out the back." He jerked his head in the direction of the doors leading to the backyard.

Emma blinked in surprise, and then nodded slowly. "I guess so...since Grandpa Garp is here now, he can save you if you fall into the pool."

Garp glanced at her, realising for the first time that she must be a Devil Fruit user.

Luffy cheered. "Yipee! I can't wait!" He jumped onto the couch next to his Grandfather and, as Ace and Emma watched, the black cat promptly fell asleep.

"Wow...my little brother's turning into me."

"Yeah...I'M STILL GOING TO CASTRATE YOU!"

"Running now!"

Garp couldn't contain his laughter any longer, and even Law joined in with a snicker, as Luffy slept on contently.

* * *

_Sakazuki walked slowly down the hallway of the G-5 Marine Base, ignoring the tortured cries of captured pirates coming from the rooms that he walked past. He didn't care that the Marines here were disobeying orders by torturing the pirates they had captured. None of it mattered to him - Dragon's son, Roger's son, and that red-haired girl were still _out there somewhere_, and he had no way of knowing where they were or what they were doing!_

_"Perhaps I can do something." Said a voice but, when Sakazuki turned around quickly, there was nobody there._

_A child-like giggle echoed from down the hallway and, on instinct, Sakazuki followed. He followed the sounds of the laughter from a child he couldn't see, until he got to a room which door was slightly ajar._

_Going inside, Sakazuki saw that it was a room where pirates were interrogated. The only occupant was a pirate who was half-dead, and slumped over a table, one of his hands missing._

_When he looked up at the sound of the door opening, his eyes turned wild and he looked at Sakazuki. "Kill me!" He begged, sounding panicked. "Please, kill me before she...aaaaa!" He screamed, as his other hand went flying off, hitting the wall behind him with a sickening sound. It slid slowly down the wall._

_Sakazuki became aware of the presence beside him, and glanced sideways, to see...a little girl._

_She was pale, and had short pink hair and pinkish red eyes, and was wearing a very old-fashioned black dress. What alerted Sakazuki to her abnormality was the fact that, one, she had just cut off a man's hand without touching him and, two, there was a sadistic look in those child-like eyes of hers._

_Oh, and the fact that she was floating in mid-air beside him._

_She moved forwards without doing anything, and tilted her head to one side. "Why do you want to die so much anyway, pirate?"_

_"You...you're a monster..." The man coughed._

_"No, you are." The girl said simply, standing on the table. "I don't like pirates. You're the scum of this planet, and you all need to die. Do you want to know something?" She asked the man, leaning down to him._

_"Wh-what?" He asked her, trying to look up at her but unable to._

_She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him close to her, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "You're all going to die." She then kissed him on the forehead and, with a strangled gasp, he fell back. His heart stopped beating, and he died._

_The little girl giggled, something that would usually have been cute, except that, given the circumstances, it was downright creepy._

_Sakazuki wasn't concerned, however - there was something _about_ this girl, something he needed to know. "Who are you, kid?" He wanted to know._

_"I'm not a kid." She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I just celebrated my nine hundredth birthday, Mr. Akainu. And, my Mummy said, 'what do you want for your birthday?', and _I_ said: 'I want to do what you do' and she said 'no', so I decided to just do it anyway, because the pirates need to die." A strange black, purple and red aura seemed to have appeared around her._

_"You didn't answer my question - _who are you_?" Sakazuki asked her._

_The girl turned to him, and curtsied. "My name is Little Death - I'm the goddess of the Underworld."_

_"And...why are you here?" Sakazuki didn't know why but, for some reason, he believed the nine hundred year old child's story completely._

_"I want to help you kill Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas D. Ace...and Emma Pax."_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Garp! I just HAD to introduce him, because he's so cool!**

**. Little Death! I'll be drawing her soon, because she reminds me of Lucy from Elfen Lied.**

_Cocoa Liddell - thanks for reviewing, though I don't know if I'll get around to updating _Marauder's Phase_...maybe one day...when we're fifty. Hmm, a love-triangle? That happens to be my middle name (actually, it's Lauren, but anyways...) Yosh, Ace is the most adorable! ^/^_

_WindWhistle21 - thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying my story, and like my way of writing. ^^_

_Chieko Namikaze - isn't that ironic? And, as for more characters, you'll just have to wait and see. It wouldn't be fun if more people didn't rock up, now, would it?_

_tanakaL - savor it, like when you eat Steak Diane and want to enjoy it, or else you'll choke on it like Luffy would!_

_Thanks to: __Akanekurochi__, __Chieko Namikaze__, __Dragon of Yin and Yang__, __Generalhyna__, __Kanzaki Aoba__, __Melissabear__ and __Suki Miko__ for the Favs._

_Thanks to: __Akanekurochi__, __Chieko Namikaze__, __Cocoa Liddell__, __Generalhyna__, __Hiken08__, __Nebelkatz__, __SkyLion27__, __Suki Miko__, __WindWhistle21__ and __xXxIRISxXx__ for the Alerts._


	5. Compass, Part One

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

Compass, Part One

* * *

Garp stretched happily, waking up slowly and blissfully from a dream about Donut Land. He opened his eyes, and came face-to-face with a huge black dog.

Garp stared at Ranger, as the big black dog began to wake up.

Ranger sniffed the air, and then became aware of the big tan and grey cat lying next to him. He opened his eyes, and growled.

"Oh..." Garp blinked. "_Hello_..."

* * *

Finally able to sleep in her own bed again, after kicking out Ace and Luffy who were currently sleeping on the spare bed, Emma woke up at the sound of hissing and barking.

"Huh? Huh?" She sat up and looked all around her, and her eyes fell on Law, who was lounging at the end of her bed...how long had he been there for?

"Dig the morning look, Emma-San." Law mocked.

"Oh, shut up." She fell back down and, ignoring the various sounds of warfare and things breaking in the living room, muttered: "What time is it?" She closed her eyes, feeling hung-over even though she hadn't been drinking.

"Time you learned to tell the time."

"You sound like my Father." Emma sighed, and then opened her eyes again, because Law was moving.

The blueish-black cat calmly walked across the bed, and walked onto her stomach and then onto her chest.

Emma blushed.

"Did you have any strange dreams last night, Emma-San?" Law asked her.

Emma wasn't sure why Law was suddenly calling her -San, but she wasn't about to question it. She also wasn't about to lie to him. "Yeah...something bad has happened..."

"What?" Law gazed intently at her.

Emma swallowed. "It...it might be better if I tell the others at the same time..." She mumbled something that sounded to Law like 'I need to find that scary lady and get some answers'. "Well..." She said, as the sound of breaking glass could be heard. "I'd better go out there and do some damage-control...Law-San, get off..." She then realised her mistake. She had told him what to do.

Law smirked. "No, I don't think I will." The black cat replied, walking further until he was looking right into Emma's eyes.

"Law-San?"

"Hmm?"

"That's sexual harassment."

"I know."

"I'll tell everyone."

"No, you won't." He lay down with his head resting against her throat.

They just stared at each other, that is until another black cat sprung onto the bed.

"Emmy, I'm hungry..." Luffy whined, and then he paused. "Law, what are you doing?"

"...Resting."

"Resting in a Zoro-way, or resting in a Sanji-way?" Luffy wanted to know.

"Sanji." Emma muttered, sitting up suddenly as Law jumped off of the bed.

"Oh." Luffy nodded his understanding, which wasn't really much.

* * *

After cleaning up and serving breakfast (more bacon and eggs - she was going to need to go shopping soon), Emma was about to go outside and train, when Luffy reminded her of her promise.

"Emmy, you _promised_ we could go _outside_ today!" Luffy whinged.

"Don't _whine_, Luffy." She told him scathingly. She hadn't had her coffee yet.

"_So-rry_..."

Emma rolled her eyes, and started up the coffee machine. "Coffee, Grandpa?" She asked the newest occupant of the house.

"_Mochiron_." He replied, grinning.

"Me too." Law and Ace said in unison, and Emma sighed.

"Okay, _fine_." She got out some cups, and then three bowls for the cats. As she waited for the coffee machine to sort itself out, she asked nobody in particular: "Is it weird, waking up to suddenly find yourself as a cat?"

"_Hai_." Said Ace, springing up onto the bench next to her. "But, at the same time, it feels natural."

"What if...what if it's reversed?" She said suddenly, turning to face him, and resting her back against the bench. She put her elbows up on the bench behind her. Today she was wearing black bathers shorts (not board-shorts) with a blue band, and a blue bikini top (that had just happened to have matched the shorts) underneath a black singlet. Ace wondered if she ever wore brighter colours, aside from her nightie, that is. "What if you guys are cats in _my_ world, and _I'll_ turn into a cat in _your_ world? _How_ do we get you back to your world? Do I get to go with you? Are the Marines going to attack us on sight if we do?"

Everyone was staring at her by now, except for Luffy because he was eating his breakfast.

Ace made a suggestion. "Why don't you make the coffee, and then we can all go outside and talk?"

"And explore!" Luffy chimed in.

Emma smiled slightly. "Okay. I'll bring the dog inside while we're all out there. Just don't you get lost, Luffy."

"I won't."

* * *

Once outside, Luffy took off running.

The others sat on the outdoor furniture, and drank their coffee.

"Now," Garp looked up at Emma. "There's a number of things _I'd_ like to know. For starters, I've been stuck in this body for two days, and in a strange and hostile world where everyone wants to eat me - where are we?"

"Umm, planet Earth," Emma replied, wondering how she was going to explain this to him. "Which is another dimension from yours but, here, there's a comic book series about your world. Plus, a cartoon show."

"What's a cartoon show?"

Emma explained it to him, and then went on: "I don't know how you all got here...but, I think it _may_ have something to do with _this_." She touched the necklace around her neck.

"How is that?" Garp wanted to know.

"This necklace was given to me by a weird lady at a shop, along with what I now am pretty certain was a Devil Fruit." Emma told him. "I came home and went to sleep, and that was when I had a dream that turned out to be _real_ - I know because my feet were clean when I went to sleep, but then they were dirty when I woke up. Also, I had Luffy's hat with me."

Garp nodded. "Makes sense. Tell me more about this dream that turned out to be real."

Ace suddenly stood up. "I think I'll go see what Luffy's doing." He said, and dashed off down the path that led to 'the wilderness'.

They watched him go, and then Emma said to Garp: "Well...it was that battle at, umm, Marineford...you know the one, and...oh my God..." She put her head in her hands. "Oh my God, oh my God, that was _way_ too close..._how the Hell could you just stand by and let them nearly kill Ace_?!" She glared at Garp, who flinched.

"If there was anything I could have _done_, don't you think I _would_ have?!" He asked her.

"Grandpa Garp...Sakazuki nearly _did_ kill him...he was about to punch a fist of molten lava _straight_ through Ace's stomach, painfully and brutally killing him, and then he was going to go after Luffy's, whose mind would've been shattered and spirit broken." Emma said quietly, staring down at her hands. "I...I'm sorry for what I said just then, but...it gets me so emotional...I mean, I know I haven't known them for very long, but...through the anime and manga, I feel like I _have_..."

Garp sighed. "I see. Yes, my grandsons have that effect on many people. I cared for them in their childhoods, as I'm sure you're well aware of, and I always hoped that they would become Marines so that...so that I wouldn't have to go through this. Perhaps...I should have been able to choose between duty and family."

"Nobody can ask you to do that, Grandpa." Emma replied, looking up at the ceiling. "War tears lives and families apart...people - like me - look for someone to blame when things go wrong, or else - like me - they wish desperately for a way to fix it...I don't know what I did, but I did something...and, I'm glad I didn't have to be so conflicted when doing whatever it was that I did. I don't envy you, Grandpa."

Law was watching all of this quietly, but he was thinking: _She tends to get riled up or upset whenever she thinks of how Luffy's brother nearly died...I also didn't realise how deep she can get...this one's just full of surprises now, isn't she?_

"What _did_ you do?" Garp asked her.

"Umm, it was really weird but, when I got attacked, I think my Devil Fruit power activated on its own, and sent all these red and gold ribbons out..." She began, but Garp cut her off.

"That was _you_?!" He yelled, jumping up, and startling Emma - she spilled her coffee down her top. "The one who attacked those men and broke all their spines, the _demon_ of war?!"

"I broke those guys' _spines_?!" Emma screamed, horrified. "Oh no, I'm so sorry Grandpa, I didn't mean to! They attacked me first!" She was flustered, Law noticed.

"That's not the point!" Garp jumped up onto her lap, startling her. "What happened next?!" He demanded to know.

"Umm, well, I saw Sakazuki heading for Luffy and Ace, so I kind of...umm...accidentally transported them here." She said meekly. "And...umm...transformed them into...cats?"

Garp was shaking slightly, with the air of a man-turned-cat whom is trying to keep his temper. "Anyone else?"

"Umm, yeah..._you_...and, umm...Law-San and, apparently, some other Whitebeard Pirates, so probably Edward Newgate himself...and...yeah..." Emma was whispering by that stage.

"And, did anybody _see_ you?" Garp asked.

Emma could only nod.

"Who?"

"S-Sakazuki...?"

Garp lost it. "_What_?! _The one person who will hunt you down across ANY dimension you happen to be on, and he was the one who SAW you_?!"

"And how is that _my_ fault?!" Emma cried, standing up suddenly and grabbing Garp by the scruff of his neck. "I saved your grandsons' lives! It's not _my_ fault Sakazuki's a freaking Nazi!"

"What in God's name is a Nazi?" Garp demanded to know.

"Never mind." Emma set him down again. "But, you're right about one thing - Sakazuki's persistent. I know because...well...I keep having dreams, dream that turn out to be real, every time I fall asleep. Sakazuki and his fellow Admirals are aware of my existence...my dreams always seem to take me to where they are, except for the one where I saw _you_, but that was more like a vision...strangely enough, you couldn't see me in that, could you? When the dogs tried to steal your donuts the other night?" He shook his head, no. "Also, last night, I saw Sakazuki, but _he_ couldn't see _me_, which is good, because there was someone else there..."

"Who?" Law's ears pricked up.

"I don't know who she is, I've never seen her before..." Emma turned to stare out at the pool, feeling chilled all of a sudden. "She's young-looking, but is apparently nine-hundred years old...she called herself 'Little Death' and...she's the goddess of the Underworld...or, so she says..."

"Goddess of the Underworld?" Law repeated, sensing familiarity in the name.

Emma nodded. "Uh-huh. I wouldn't have believed it, but...she killed a man just by touching him...well, she kissed his forehead, so it was the Kiss Of Death. She also cut off his hands before, without _even_ touching him..." She shuddered, remembering the way the severed and bloodied hand had slid down the wall.

"And, she made contact with Sakazuki?" Garp sat back, absorbing the information.

Emma nodded. "Yes...she said...she wants to kill me, Ace and Luffy...that is what she said..."

"Why?" Garp wanted to know.

Emma shrugged. "No idea. That's why I want to find the lady who gave me my necklace...I think she can answer some of these questions better than I can..."

Garp nodded, and then blinked as Emma began to take her top off. "Umm, what are you doing?"

She gave him an odd look, as she stripped off her top to reveal her bikini. "What's it look like I'm doing? I've got to train." She threw the top down on the chair. "And, I can't _do_ that in a top that _you_ made me spill coffee onto! I could've drank that." She mumbled, before heading off down the back.

* * *

She found Ace and Luffy by the chicken coop.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Emma asked, smiling. "What're you...? Hmm...?" Her smile faded, as she looked at Luffy, who had one black paw stretched out, to the top of the chicken coop, across the roof, and then through the wire, to where he was... "_Whaaaa_! _Hedwig_?!" Emma screeched, seeing the white chicken with the black speckles - her favourite hen - dangling off the ground, squawking madly. "_Awaaa_...?"

"Think it'll taste good char-grilled?" Luffy wanted to know.

"Only one way to find out." Ace grinned, setting both his paws alight. "Hurry up and kill it, little bro."

Emma was _not_ amused and, grabbing both the black cats, clonked both their heads together. "_Stop strangling my chicken_!" She yelled, as Luffy let go of the hen, and Emma hurried in there to make sure she was alright. "_Baka_..." She muttered.

* * *

Law trotted down the path, the sunlight gleaming off his body and making the blueish-black fur look even _more_ blue. Following the path, he came to the fence-line, where he turned left, and came to a small woodshed.

He could hear music coming from there and, curious, he peered around the side, to see that the music was coming from Emma's I-Pod - that small pink and white thing that she seemed to love so much.

Emma herself was standing on a narrow plank suspended between two stumps and, Law realised, she was balance-training. Sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees, striking the patches of her skin where sweat glistened. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed totally focused on what she was doing, as the song played. But, as Law watched, Emma opened her mouth and began to sing and, suddenly, the high soprano voice that she'd seemed so unsure of made sense.

"_So baby come to me _

_Baby, Show me who you are (yeah yeah yeah) _

_Sweet to me _

_Like sugar to my heart (oooh baby) _

_I'm craving (I'm cravin) for you, I'm missing you like candy (missin you like candy)_..."

Law's eyes widened slightly. He wasn't surprised that they hadn't heard her sing before - she was shy, that much was for certain. But, with a voice like that, she could be mistaken for a sea siren.

Also, the way she was moving right now was quite alluring...Law suddenly had to shake himself off, to stop himself from thinking these thoughts. She was practically a stranger to him, and _he_ was the feared Surgeon Of Death. She was his host, nothing more, nothing less.

Emma suddenly opened her eyes as the song finished, and caught sight of Law standing there and staring at her. "A-waaaah!" She screamed, and fell of the beam, much to Law's amusement. As she toppled into the bushes, he heard her mutter: "Damn you, Law-San..." Then: "Hey, what's this?!"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth, when a beam of pinkish-purple light shot directly into the sky from where Emma was lying (at the moment, since most of her was in the bushes, all Law could see was her legs). The beam of light stayed in the sky for a moment, before disappearing.

Yup, there was nothing suspicious about that, _at all_.

* * *

At the Perth City train station, through a doorway marked Police Rail Unit, two men and one woman watched a second woman put a security tape into the player (how old-fashioned, but they liked to do things that way).

"Why are we here, again?" One of the men asked. He was in his late twenties, with dark brown hair, and went by the name of Jacob Blaxley. "It's Collingwood VS Sydney."

His partner, an older gentleman named Robert O'Grady, sighed, and rubbed his temples. "Yes, Carmilla, this had _better_ be important enough to call me away from my son's birthday."

"I had a date I had to cancel." A slightly plump brunette by the name of Penelope Owensby added, adjusting her glasses.

Beautiful raven-haired, blue-eyed Carmilla Brown spun around, her eyes flashing. "Nobody cares about your football, your parties, or _your_ hopeless love-life!" She snapped, making each of her colleagues flinch. "_This_ is _actually_ _rather_ important!" She turned back around, and so didn't see when the other three rolled their eyes. Whoever had made _Carmilla_ in charge of security should be demoted. "Now, I need you three to watch this carefully..." She said quietly, and pressed the play button.

The scene showed a young girl wearing a straw hat and sunglasses, boarding the train on the Fremantle Line yesterday.

"Straw-Hat-Wearing-Cat-Girl?" Penelope guessed, as a cat poked its head out of the girl's bag, and then jumped onto the seat, followed by two more cats. _Those cats are so cute!_

"Couldn't you have told us this on Monday?" Jacob wanted to know.

"Yes, so far, this girl hasn't done anything wrong, save for bringing cats onto public transport, but that's _hardly_ a hangable offense." Robert added.

Carmilla pressed her lips together, and then hit the rewind button. "Here's the audio-version." She said softly, as the video began to play.

The girl sat down on the train as they watched, and then she cheered and relaxed. "Yes! This hardly ever happens!" She said.

"What hardly ever happens, Emmy?"

Jacob, Robert and Penelope stared in shock at the screen, wondering where the voice had come from, as the girl spoke up again.

"You hardly ever get a train with nobody on it, Luffy." She appeared to be talking to the black cat, which had bandages on its side.

He hoped up onto the seat and put his paws onto the window. "_Sugoi_..." He breathed.

"But...who...?" Penelope stuttered, taking off her glasses and cleaning them, as Carmilla hit rewind one more time, and then zoomed in.

"Yes! This hardly ever happens!"

The cat poked its head out of the bag and, as they watched, it opened its mouth and _spoke_. "What hardly ever happens, Emmy?"

"That's...not possible..." Jacob whispered, as his co-workers looked shocked.

"That's what I said but, well, here we are." Carmilla stated, clasping her hands. "_Now_ you see why I called you all in."

They all nodded.

* * *

Emma sat in the recliner, watching the evening news as the cats and dog ate their dinners. She was half-watching the news, that is, and half-looking at the item in her hand.

It was about the size of a pocket-watch, and it was a rich rose-gold colour with a blue face. It was a compass, but only half of one - one half was still missing. As soon as Emma had touched it that morning, however, a beam of light had shot into the sky. How, or why, she knew not.

She had a _feeling_ that this compass _meant_ something to them all, but she didn't know _why_. She just had a feeling that she was supposed to keep it with her, like her heart necklace and Luffy's hat.

As she sipped a cup of tea, she happened to glance up at the TV.

"...an unexplained beam of some sort of light was shot into the skies above Perth today, interrupting the Prime Minister's tour of the city." Geoff Parry was saying, and it caused Emma to nearly spill her tea, as she set down her cup and hurried to stare at the TV a bit closer. There was that beam of light...there was a picture of it but, thankfully, no bird-eye-views. What happened next, however, stunned Emma. "A second beam of light was reported to have been seen above the skies of Dunsborough at _exactly_ the same time, coming from the strange ship that appeared covered in ribbons a few nights ago just off the coast."

A picture was shown of a massive ship, with an abundance of red and gold ribbons decorating it haphazardly. The strangest thing about it, however, was that the front of it was designed to look like a whale.

"The same ship that appeared to be destroyed one minute, but then whole the next," Geoff Parry was saying, as Emma was frozen to her spot on the floor. "And which appears to be deserted but, as of yet, the police have not sent anybody to explore it. Whether these two incidents are connected or not, we have yet to find out. Geoff Parry...ssseven news." He always said it like that. There was a Face-Book page about it, and everything...

Emma, meanwhile, had managed to swallow and start breathing again, before she calmly rewound it and then called Ace into the room.

She played the news bulletin for him again.

Ace sat on the coffee table, staring silently at the screen, until the whole thing had played, and then he turned to Emma, unable to say anything.

The other cats came into the room, curious to see what was going on.

"What's the matter?" Law asked Emma, seeing the staring contest that she was having with Ace.

Neither of them replied, so the other three cats turned to the TV screen for help.

"Depressed Trucker Drives-Self Crazy?" Garp guessed.

Emma shook her head, wordlessly.

"Angry Pig Goes Hog-Wild?" Luffy suggested.

"No!" Ace snapped, finally finding his voice. "It's Whitebeard...no, it's the _entire_ Whitebeard Crew! They're here! In this world!" He was practically quivering with excitement. "Emma..."

"I know, Ace." Emma said softly, leaning back slightly. "I'll have to make arrangements...get my sister to stay here tomorrow night...I may have to miss out on a few days of TAFE, which is bad, but I guess it can't be helped." She shrugged. "I wanted to meet Whitebeard, too...he's awesome..." She couldn't help but say. _But...TERRIFYING!_ She added, in her mind. "I wonder what I'll say to him...to Whitebeard-Sama...I wonder..."

Ace suddenly leapt into her arms, nuzzling up against her neck. "Thank you!" He said, with such fervency that it took Emma _completely_ by surprised. "_Domo arigatoo_!"

_Eek, I made Ace go OOC_! Emma panicked slightly, but she didn't mind _too_ much. After all, she got a free hug from Fire-Fist Ace!

Meanwhile, Luffy was smiling, but Garp and Law were glowering, for very different reasons, though...

* * *

Carmilla spoke on her mobile phone to her little sister.

"Yeah, sorry Georg, I got a lot of work to do this week, so maybe next weekend we can hang out?"

"_Don't_ call me _Georg_."

Carmilla laughed. "Yes, sorry, I forgot. You're my little sister, though, so it's my job to tease you. How's TAFE going?" Even though they lived in the same city, they hardly ever saw each other because of work and schooling. They might as well have been on separate _planets_.

"Fine. We've got a comic that we're doing, which is fun." Carmilla could hear her sister shrugging. "How's work?"

Carmilla sighed. "Same as usual. I can't tell you about it, though."

Georgia laughed. "Oh well. Have fun with whatever it is that you're doing, okay?"

Carmilla smiled. "You too, sis. Love you."

"Love you more."

"Love you most." Carmilla hung up the phone, and pocketed it, sighing. As she walked through Northbridge which, ironically, was where her sister's TAFE was located, she muttered out-loud to herself. "Damn you, Straw-Hat-Wearing-Cat-Girl..._why_ won't you ever show your face around here?" They hadn't been able to find her _anywhere_, because she never showed her face due to that straw hat and those sunglasses!

Carmilla was suddenly stopped by seven or eight men, who surrounded her so suddenly!

Carmilla raised an eyebrow. "_What_?" The police officer snapped.

The men suddenly pulled out guns.

"Oh, _puh-lease_." Carmilla sighed. "You think you're the first people to do this to me?"

"No, but we'll be the last." One of them told her, just as he was struck from behind by something - something _fiery_.

A man, whose arms appeared to be made of _molten_ _lava_, made short work of the armed men, much to Carmilla's shock - and, she was _not_ a lady that was usually shocked by _anything_.

The man turned to face her - he was very tall, and appeared to be in his late fifties. "I couldn't help but notice that you mentioned a girl wearing a straw hat, is that correct?"

Carmilla straightened herself up, her training at the police-academy kicking in. This man was dangerous - Carmilla had seen with her own eyes, in a matter of about twenty seconds, just what he could do! She had to play it cool. "I did. Do you know something about her?"

"I might do." The man appeared to be weighing her up just as, to Carmilla's second surprise of the night, a little girl appeared floating in the air beside the man.

She giggled and, Carmilla thought, it was the most chilling sound that she had ever heard. Her red hair and eyes, along with her black dress and pale skin, made her look like a China doll...an _evil_ China doll, Carmilla decided.

"This is Carmilla Brown - she's a police-lady in this world, Mr. Akainu! And, guess what - Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace have been turned into _cats_!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So, the two Governments have crossed over! What's going to happen now? You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out, because I'm about to fall asleep...it's, like, 2:05AM here...**

* * *

The song that Emma sings is called _Candy_, by Mandy Moore. watch?v=DygNDb11X5w

* * *

_MsWildLuck - why, thank you! *Shines* The next chapter will be exciting._

_tanakaL - thank you, I'm glad you found the chapter funny! ^^_

_Akanekurochi - I'm glad you were hooked, and love my story so much! :) Emma is loveable? I'm glad you think so, I have fun writing about her! ^^_

_Chieko Namikaze - ah-ha, more irony! I love it! XD I'm glad that you're enjoying my story. By the way, did you get your username from Naruto?_


	6. Compass, Part Two

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER SIX

Compass, Part Two

* * *

"Okay..." Emma consulted her piece of paper. "I called my sister and told her I'd be staying at Krystal's, and I packed my overnight bag last night, so I guess the last thing left to do is..." She glanced sideways. "Try and convince Grandpa Garp to go along with this."

"_I am NOT going, and that's FINAL_!" Garp was glaring at Ace, and Ace was glaring right back at him. Their bristles were standing straight up, and their claws were extended.

Luffy watched in fascination, and Law watched quietly.

"No one's _asking_ you to come with us, old man!" Ace yelled back. "Just mind your own business!"

"This _is_ my business, you snot-nosed brat!" Garp shouted. "As a Marine, I cannot just simply stand by and let this happen!"

"You two..." Law began, but he was cut off.

"THIS IS A FAMILY MATTER!"

Law just sighed.

"Oi, _Ojīchan_, the Whitebeard Pirates _are_ my family!" Ace snapped.

"Don't you _dare_ say that, Ace!" Garp snapped.

"Uh, _Ojīchan_...Ace..." Luffy tried.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!"

"Hey, don't yell at Luffy!" Ace told Garp.

"You yelled at him, too!" Garp hissed, swinging his head back around to glare at Ace again. "You think I want to go running off to find the _Whitebeard_ Pirates, of all crews?!"

"No one's asking you to go!" Ace shouted.

"Umm..." Emma whispered, and everyone looked at her. She was standing by the laundry door, staring at Garp. "It's just...I...would like it...very much, if you came with us..."

"_What_?!" Ace blinked.

"I mean," Emma walked forwards, and knelt down so that she was eye-level with the Marine cat. "When my sister gets here, you won't really be able to let her see you, and it will be too troublesome for you to hide. Not only that, but you'd get lonely, staying here all by yourself. At least if you come with us, you can help me keep an eye on Luffy and Ace and...we can get to know each other better." She smiled.

Garp stared at her for a moment, before nodding his head. "Very well then, I accept your offer."

"_What the Hell_?!" Luffy and Ace cried.

Law just smirked. _Well that was easy._ He thought.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"_No_."

"...How 'bout now?"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, _NO_!" Everybody shouted.

Luffy pouted. "But why no-ot?" He was sitting in the same place in the car he had the day before yesterday, but this time he was bored out of his mind.

"Luffy, it will take at least three hours to get to where we're going." Emma explained, turning left onto the freeway. "That's why we're leaving so early in the morning," she added, glancing at a sleeping Ace and wishing that she could do that. "That way, we'll have plenty of time to look for Ace's crew." She smiled, already anticipating meeting them, but feeling nervous at the same time. _I wonder what they'll be like...I wonder what Whitebeard will be like! Omigosh, what should I say to him? Am I _allowed_ to speak to him? I'd better ask Ace when he wakes up..._

"In the mean time," Law said, from the floor, as if reading Emma's mind. "Why don't you sing for us, Emma-San?"

"Wh-what?" Emma was startled, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "Wh-wh-why?"

Law smirked. "Because I said so."

Emma swallowed, not liking the sound of that. She still wasn't sure what to think of the dark doctor, whom she didn't know as much about as Luffy and Ace. Something about him seemed to chill her and, yet, at the same time, he was interesting to her. That didn't mean that she was _interested_ in him, she just found him..._interesting_...

Emma put a CD into the player, and moved to song number seven - _Butterfly_, by Delta Goodrem. She started off singing softly at first, not liking singing in front of others, and her voice shook. They could all hear it but, beneath that, and beneath the voice of the lady singing on the CD, they could all hear it - a soft and melodic singing voice, one that mirrored the gentle tone she tended to use when she was negotiating or reasoning.

It reminded Luffy of his home back on Dawn Island...of sitting in the bar and watching Makino clean up after a long day of serving drinks. For some reason, Emma reminded him of Makino - both were warm and friendly, and cared about others. Luffy wasn't sure why he was thinking this as he listened to Emma sing and watched her watch the road, but he was content to just lay down and day-dream for the majority of the trip. Mostly, he thought about how cool it would be to find _his_ crew when the time came, and to introduce them all to Emma. He was sure that they would like her - after all, she was also quite similar to Nami. Both always seemed to be worrying about money, for one thing. Luffy grinned, and tried to come up with a way to get Emma to buy him some meat later on.

* * *

"You really can't wait to meet him, can you?" Ace grinned, jumping up onto Emma's lap.

Emma tried not to smile, as she turned around the round-about that, one time, her sister had nearly killed them all on.

Emma was wondering what her sister and parents would say if they knew where she really was, and tried not to think about it. She was focusing on not getting lost - it had been years since she'd been down this way.

"So, what are you gonna say to him?"

"Huh?" Emma glanced at Ace out of the corner of her eyes. "What?"

"To the old man." Ace was grinning. "What are you gonna say to him when you meet him?"

"Don't _encourage _her!" Garp yelled from the backseat.

"Oh, I get it." Law said calmly. "You're just jealous because she's more excited about meeting Whitebeard than she was about meeting you."

Everyone froze, realising what Law had just said.

Garp dug his claws into the backseat, clearly losing his temper.

_Law-San, don't push him any further..._ Emma thought desperately.

"I mean," Law shrugged. "I can't say I blame her. She probably just thinks he's cooler than you are. Don't take it personally. She's _pure_ pirate material, after all."

SCREECH!

Emma slammed her foot on the brake, and all of the cats pitched forwards, save for Ace, who clung to her lap.

"Emma-San?" Law tried to untangle himself from Luffy.

At the same time Garp cried: "And what was _that_ all in aid of?!"

"Ssh!" Emma hissed, staring at something only she could see.

Curious, Ace climbed his way up to her shoulder, and saw that all the cars in front of them had stopped, and that another blue and white car was pulled up on the side of the road, and people in uniforms were talking to the people in the cars.

"The police." Emma muttered, and Luffy, Ace and Law all cringed. "Quick, get under the seats!" Emma muttered, and the cats all dove for cover as a man in a police uniform came up to the car, just as Emma threw her jacket over the straw hat.

"Good morning, Miss, this is just a random breath test." The police officer said. He was a brunette, in his late twenties. He held out the breathalyzer to her.

"Okay." Emma replied, and blew into the tube.

The results came up negative, and the man thanked her, before he promptly dropped the breathalyzer, or _she_ dropped it or, at any rate, it fell beneath the seat.

"_Owch_!" Ace cried.

"What was that?" The police officer asked.

"That was, umm, me?" Emma reached under the seat, picking up the breathalyzer. "Okay...?" The police officer seemed just as uncertain, but accepted the small machine back. "So, what brings you down south, anyway?" He asked her.

"Umm, probably the same thing they're all doing?" Emma gestured to the cars in front of her.

"Sanderson wedding?"

"No!" She blushed. "I mean...uh...I came to see that ship...you know the one..."

The officer exhaled. "Oh, yes, I know it...its in the bay about a five minute drive past the Dunsborough town center, but you won't be able to get close to it - it's barricaded off, you see."

"Oh well, thanks anyway." Emma said politely, as the policeman waved her on. Once she was away from the police cars, Emma breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew. That was a close one."

"What _was_ that?" Ace wanted to know, as he crawled out from under the seat. He was rubbing the side of his head where the breathalyzer had hit him.

"A random breath test, to make sure I wasn't over the legal alcohol limit." Emma replied. "Though, I don't see _how_ anybody could be drunk at _this_ hour."

"You'd be surprised." Luffy, Ace and Law said in unison.

"Hmm." Emma mused. "Anyway, Ace, in answer to your question, I don't know _what_ I'll say to Whitebeard-Sama...I mean, what _does_ one say to the only man that could go up against Gol D. Roger and _live_? I mean, not just _anybody_ can say that, you know!" She fiddled with the compass-half that she was wearing around her neck, wondering what it was for.

"I know." Ace mumbled, still rubbing his head. That thing that had hit him had been heavy.

"I mean, Whitebeard-Sama is, like, _awesome_!" Emma exclaimed, her voice gaining a melodic ring, which gained Ace's attention. "He's so intimidating, though - like, he was _furious_ when Shanks sent him a letter instead of coming to see him, face-to-face! Can I even _tell_ him how cool I think he is?! He's like, _God_, but with a crescent-moon-shaped mustache!"

Normally, Ace would have laughed at this assessment (before warning her _not_ to say that to Whitebeard), but he was too busy trying to get rid of the throbbing pain on his forehead. Perhaps Emma noticed this because, when she pulled up at the red lights, she motioned Ace to jump up onto her lap again, which he did, feeling perplexed, until she leaned down to examine his forehead, where a bump was already starting to form.

"Aww, poor Ace." She said, slightly teasingly and then, before he could stop her, she gave his forehead a quick kiss.

If it had been possible for cats to blush, then Ace would've turned a bright shade of red, and possibly steam would've come out of his ears. He leapt back, onto the passenger seat, and began spluttering, his fur standing on end as he quivered, with either anger or embarrassment, nobody could tell.

Garp was currently laughing from the backseat, and Luffy was too, saying something about 'Ace has a girl-friend'.

Law, meanwhile, was still on the floor of the car, and his expression was unreadable, but his eyes were dark.

Emma just smiled, and hummed as she continued driving, seeming a bit more cheerful now.

* * *

"Wow, that guy wasn't kidding when he said that the place was barricaded off." Emma muttered, stopping the car down the road. There were trees to the left and the ocean to the right and, in front of them, a police blockade. "We need to go back to town and think of a plan."

"Can we buy some meat?" Luffy asked her.

"Sure." She replied, shrugging. "I haven't been here in awhile, so it'll be nice."

Ace just shook his head, impatient to find his crew, but knowing that Emma wouldn't exactly feel good about running a police blockade without at least _some_ kind of a plan.

They went back into town and Emma parked the car. Getting out, she stretched and then, with the straw hat on her back hanging from the chord and Luffy racing ahead, she walked into town followed by the other three cats...wait...

Emma turned around, and did a quick head-count. Ace...Law...

"Where's Grandpa Garp?" Emma said suddenly, realising that the Marine was missing.

At the same time, Ace said: "Where's Luffy?"

And, indeed, Grandfather and grandson had _both_ gone missing, in the space of about ten seconds. They really _were_ related.

Emma looked frustrated. "_Really_?!" She cried, throwing her hands up.

Ace couldn't believe it. "At a time like _this_?!"

"What do we _do_?!" They both asked in unison.

Law sighed, and sat down on a low stone wall. "Perhaps we should split up and search for them?" The blueish-black cat suggested. "We can meet up here in half an hour."

"Hmm, that's a good idea, Law-San." Emma nodded.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Ace muttered.

"Hmm, except..." Emma considered this. "It'll be troublesome if Ace falls asleep standing up and gets cat-napped or run-over or something...ah! Law-San, you go with Ace!" She said, running off before either one of them could protest, or Law could get angry at her for telling him what to do.

Ace sighed. Talk about troublesome. The _last_ thing he wanted was to be stuck walking around a strange town with this dark doctor. He started walking in the opposite direction to what Emma had run. "_Come on_." He snapped.

Law hissed, managing to resist the urge to claw the other cat's eyes out by plotting his revenge in his mind. It was sweet.

* * *

Emma sighed, and sipped on a Mocha Chill, listening to her I-Pod and walking around in what she realised was a big circle - she hadn't been able to find Luffy _anywhere_.

"Aww, I should've brought Ace with me and let Law-San go off on his own." She realised, feeling a strange ache in her heart. She didn't like being separated from them but, she realised, it was pretty much the first time in four days that she had really been by herself. It gave her time to think, and realise what was happening.

She took a deep breath, after ditching her empty coffee (which she had skulled, because she could) and realised that she was changing...no, scratch that. She'd _already_ changed, but it was going to keep happening.

_Why me? Why did I get to be the one to help them? There's nothing special about me. I mean, sure, now I have a Devil Fruit power and, apparently, I can sing, but...I'm shy, socially awkward, stubborn as a mule, can't cook anything past bacon and eggs, not terribly bright, hate maths, am about as athletic as a toothpick..._ She sighed, going into a darker state of mind that often happened when she was by herself, or had just gotten a grilling from her parents. _Somebody athletic and pretty and a real go-getter like Krystal would've been a _much_ better choice, or perhaps somebody smart and confident and hard-working like Mayling..._ Her shoulders sagged. _WHY did I get chosen?_

Emma suddenly felt a tugging coming from her left, like something was tugging her in that direction. Taking out her I-Pod and stowing it away in her bag, Emma began walking towards the direction of the sound, the compass-half and winged-heart swinging from her neck. She was wearing black stockings and a black dress today, with her black knee boots and sunglasses. She placed the straw hat on her head. She walked towards the crowd of people, who wouldn't move out of the way and let her through. That was frustrating for a vertically-challenged young woman, such as herself.

"Hey, what's going on?" Somebody near to her said to another person.

He turned to the person. "Some crazy black cat just stole a whole string of sausages from Louie - he's going berserk in there."

Emma had been silently listening to this, and now she gasped. "_Luffy_!" She cried, causing people near to her to look.

They immediately began to murmur:

"Who's that strange girl?"

"I think I read about her in the newspaper."

"Ah, it's the girl from Perth City that punched that gunman!"

"Straw-Hat-Wearing-Cat-Girl?!"

"That's _her_?!"

"Oh my God!" (Why do people always say that in a crisis?).

Meanwhile, Emma pushed herself through the crowd, intent on getting to Luffy before this Louie guy hurt him. What she saw when she pushed through the crowd terrified her. The man who owned the local butchers had succeeded in cornering Luffy, and was brandishing a very large butchers knife at him. Luffy seemed oblivious to the danger, as he happily munched on the last of the sausages.

"Rotten cat!" Louie shouted, and raised the knife to bring it down.

Emma gasped again, and shot forwards. "_No_!" She cried, grabbing Luffy, as the glint of the knife's blade flashed past her eyes. "_Aaaa_!" She closed her eyes and put her hand up, and felt the tip of the knife graze the inside of her wrist, before everybody gasped. _Oh no, he cut my veins, didn't he?_

She dared to open her eyes, and saw that a hand had grabbed Louie's wrist, stopping the knife from getting any further. The hand belonged to a police officer, which normally would have made Emma feel relieved but, right now, it filled her with dread, because she didn't like the look in the raven-haired beauty's ice-blue eyes.

* * *

Back in Perth, Sarah Pax sighed, and sat on the couch with a beer, because it was beer o'clock. She was twenty-six years old, with long hair dyed black and with pale streaks, and blue contacts covering her hazel-green eyes. She had nine piercings in each ear, a tongue ring, a Madonna piercing and a belly-button ring. A blue tattoo on her back had the date _11/01/2006_, and was followed by the words _One Day At A Time_ in fancy script, in memory of their dead Nanna. She was dressed in a plain black dress with a wide silver belt, and had on blue flats that matched her manicure.

She was also slightly pissed off at being asked to house-sit, and realised suddenly that she'd forgotten to ask her little sister what sprinklers she had to put on that day. Sighing in frustration, she got up, and found her mobile phone (it was a Siri) and then realised that she didn't have Krystal's phone-number.

Groaning now, Sarah stalked down the hall, and into her sister's room. She rolled her eyes at the anime posters on the purple walls, and the manga, plushies, anime DVD's and what-not...was her sister _really_ turning twenty-three this year?

However, there on the top of a stack of other books was her sister's pocket-book and, in it, Sarah found what she was looking for after flicking a few pages back.

She dialed Krystal's number, and waited for somebody to pick up. When Krystal's younger brother Blake did so, Sarah asked to speak to Emma.

"She's not here." Blake replied.

Sarah blinked, and then considered this carefully. "Okay...never mind, don't worry about it. Bye."

"Bye."

Sarah hung up, and thought about what had just transpired. _Emma told me she was going to Krystal's, but she's not there...maybe they've just gone out, but wouldn't Blake have said so?_ Sighing, Sarah rubbed her temples. Being a big sister was so _frustrating_ sometimes!

Irritated now, Sarah kicked at the stack of books, which toppled over, and upset the towel that they'd been sitting on. Rolling her eyes, Sarah knelt down to fix them up, but then noticed what the towel had been hiding.

"What's happened to the carpet?" She said out-loud, running a hand over the slightly dampened surface, and then withdrawing it immediately. "Is...is that _blood_?!" She gasped, her heart pounding, and stared at the red stain on her hand, before looking up - and that's when she caught sight of the claw-marks on the bed-post. _WHAT THE HELL_?!

* * *

Ace and Law managed not to kill each other or _get_ killed, but they became concerned when they returned to the meeting spot and Emma wasn't there. They waited for ten minutes (and, another five for when Ace fell asleep) and, when she _still_ wasn't back, they started to get worried. They decided to investigate in the direction she had gone, and found themselves in an outdoor mall.

"Where could she be?" Ace muttered, looking around, and unable to shake off the uneasy feeling that he had in his chest. "Umm..." He stopped suddenly.

Law stopped too, and sniffed at the red substance on the ground. "Blood." He said darkly.

"_Whose_?" Ace wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he had to ask.

"Well..." Law began but, just then, something came barreling towards them, crashing into the both of them and sending the three of them flying.

They crashed into a wall, but managed to pick themselves up.

"Luffy!" Ace cried, glad to see his brother, but annoyed at him for going missing for so long. "Where've you..."

"It's terrible!" Luffy cried, sounding panicked. He was breathing heavily, which was unusual for him - he must be really worried.

"Where's Emma-San?" Law asked quietly, a hint of menace in his voice.

"The police..." Luffy said, and both Law and Ace froze. "The police took her away! They're taking her to Whitebeard's ship!"

"Why?" Ace asked tensely. "Why are they taking her there?"

"They said something about her knowing what's going on, even though she said that she didn't!" Luffy explained. "They put her in cuffs and led her away, but she told me to run and find you guys, so I did!"

"You just left her?" Law questioned.

Luffy spoke seriously. "She told me to - she said that she'd be fine, and that it would help her more if I went and got you guys." He twitched his tail a few times. "So...what are we going to do now?"

"We're going to go and get her." Ace and Law said in unison.

* * *

Emma was pale, and shaking, as she sat in the back of the police cruiser, with officers Penelope Owensby and Carmilla Brown in the front (Carmilla was driving). They were driving her to the bay where the Moby Dick was and, though this was _exactly_ where Emma had wanted to go, she couldn't help but feel that it would be bad if she went there. She had tried asking both the officers why they were taking her to that place, why she was hand-cuffed, and why they thought that she had done something wrong, but neither one of them would answer her.

She was driven past the police blockade, and began to feel panicked. The cuffs slipped on her sweaty wrists, and her throat felt dry. She'd never been on the wrong side of the law before and now, suddenly, by almost no fault of her own, here she was.

As she was driven up to the bay, Emma's eyes drifted out to the sunset over the ocean, which was simply stunning - a typical red and golden Dunsborough sunset.

Then, she saw the Moby Dick.

"_Ohhhh_..." Emma breathed, leaning across to get a better view, and feeling a strange sense tugging her towards the ship. _I thought that it was destroyed by Sakazuki, but..._

As the car stopped, and Carmilla opened the door for Emma, she got out, and looked past Carmilla, to where two figures were waiting - one of them was the police-officer that had stopped her this morning!

Emma kept her head down as she was lead across the sand, wondering what was going to happen next.

"So, this is her?" The police-officer from this morning, whose name badge read Jacob Blaxley, ran a hand through his hair, as Emma glared at him from behind her sunglasses.

"Wh-why am I here?" She wanted to know.

"I think you know." The older policeman, who wore a badge with the name Robert O'Grady on it, replied, adjusting his spectacles. "You know more about this than anyone else, don't you?"

Emma considered this, wondering if she could trust them. _I-I'm scared! I don't know what to do!_ She closed her eyes, feeling tears in her eyes. _I...I wish the others were here...I need help!_

Carmilla grabbed her shoulder, and forced her to look up at her. "We know that you know!" She said roughly. "Now, who are you, and where are Ace and Luffy?!"

Emma gasped, shaking free of the police-officer's grasp and taking a quick step back. "Wh-what do you know of them?!

Carmilla's eyes flashed. "More than you think...it's our job to uphold the law in Perth, and you are upsetting that balance."

"News-flash..." Emma gritted her teeth, wishing that she wasn't in cuffs and outnumbered four-to-one. "We're not _in_ Perth anymore!"

Carmilla glared at her, and moved towards her but, just then, three shapes darted out of the bushes. One latched onto Carmilla's hand, making her scream. Another clamped his jaws onto the hand-cuffs, breaking them instantly.

The third just waited, and watched from the shadows.

Luffy let go of Carmilla's hand and flipped back, his hackles standing straight up, as Ace finished with the hand-cuffs, effectively unchaining them, and they sat harmlessly against Emma's clammy wrists, as Ace joined his brother.

"We heard you were looking for us." They said in unison, glaring daggers at the four police-officers.

Emma, meanwhile, was stunned. _Th-they came for me...but...why?_ Her necklace - the half-compass - suddenly felt warm and, just then, began emitting a soft glow. "Huh?" A small beam of light pointed towards the Moby Dick. "What the...?"

Just then, the ground began to shake slightly, and everybody looked around, trying to find the source of the shaking. Emma suddenly looked towards the rocks that formed the grounds of her rock-climbing expeditions as a child holidaying here, and gasped.

Everyone else looked, too, to see over a hundred cats standing there, glaring down at them with glowing eyes.

To Emma, who had never _seen_ so many cats in one place before, it was a tad overwhelming.

To Ace, however, it was the biggest and most welcomed relief he had had in awhile, and his kitty face suddenly sported a huge grin. "_Oyaji_!" He cried, greeting the largest of the cats, a big white one with...was that a crescent-moon-shaped mustache?!

"Ace..." The old cat growled, his yellow eyes flashing. "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?"

Emma was stunned, staring in shock at the crew. "This...this is...Ace's family? The Whitebeard Pirates?" She breathed. _They're all cats too - how'd that happen?!_

Whitebeard's eyes flickered over to her, and then to the half-compass around her neck. His eyes widened ever-so-slightly and then, with a sweep of one huge paw, he used his Devil Fruit powers to send her flying with a tremor in the air.

Emma didn't even have time to realise what had happened, and then she was hitting the deck - quite literally - of the Moby Dick, sliding a few ways back before coming to a stop.

"What...?" She muttered, before seeing a pair of glowing eyes from above. "Oh, _now_ what...?" She wondered.

* * *

"Men, you all know why you're here." The Captain really had no idea why he was saying this but, hey, why not go with it? This was absolutely the _strangest_ assignment that they'd _ever_ gotten and, so, one could forgive him for not really knowing what to say. "We may have just been transported to a different world by a really scary-looking child, but we're following the orders of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki," (The scariest man alive). "And we're going to confront the Whitebeard Pirates again. Any questions?"

"How are we going to get back to our own world, Captain?"

"No idea." The Captain replied. "Everybody ready?"

"Yes, Sir!" They all saluted.

"Good." He turned to look to the front of the ship and saw, to his surprise, that they were already within sight of the beach, and the Moby Dick. As the Captain watched, a figure went flying from the shore, to land on the deck of the Whitebeard Pirates' ship. "It looks like things are starting to happen...again..." He muttered quietly to himself, as he and his men prepared themselves for battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the deck of the giant ship, Emma had managed to sit up, and was watching the blonde cat advance upon her. She swallowed nervously, trying to figure out who he was, when he spoke.

"So glad to see that you're doing alright after the battle." He had a lazy voice to match his lazy expression.

Emma stared at him, and then gasped. "_M-Marco_-San...?" He nodded. "But...oh wow, _dozo_ _yoroshiku_." She bowed her head. _It's Marco the Phoenix!_

"Likewise." The blonde cat smiled at her, and then bowed his head, slipping a necklace off that he had just been wearing around his neck.

Emma glanced at it, and then gasped, realising that it was the second half of the compass! She got onto her knees, and slid her own half of the compass off of her neck, sliding it across the deck.

When it got close to the other half, both halves began to glow, and shake as if they were magnets. Emma jumped back, as the two halves shot towards each other and were connected, floating up into the air and an energy-field of pinkish-red light expanded out from it, blanketing everything in a dull red light, momentarily.

When the light cleared, Emma blinked, and found herself staring up at a man with spiky blonde hair and that same lazy expression that the cat had been wearing.

"_M-M-Marco-San_?" She stammered, staring in complete shock at the transformation. _He looks even cooler in real life than he does in the manga!_ Her heart was hammering in her chest.

Marco, who was holding the now-not-glowing-completely-whole-compass, smiled calmly, and extended a hand to her, which she took, and he helped her to stand up. The broken cuffs clinked on her wrists.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Emma dared to glance at the shore but, before she could, her eyes fell on the sails of a ship that she had only ever seen in a cartoon.

"M-Marines?" She whispered, unable to speak any louder. Her hand flew to her throat.

"It seems that way." Marco was _still_ smiling, but not in the same way that Law did. _His_ smile was so calm, it was incredible. He was holding onto Emma's hand still, but transferred the compass to it and let go. "_Daijoubu_." He added, casually, before walking over to the railing and activating his Devil Fruit power. Wings of blue flames unfurled on either side of him, as he jumped up onto the railing. He stepped off the ship, and Emma ran to the edge, leaning over in time to see him fly just above the water's surface towards the Marine's ship.

"Wow..." Emma muttered, and then cringed, as she heard the sounds of a battle begin behind her, from the shore.

She then turned around, to come face-to-face with a Marine.

"Aah!" She gasped, staring in shock. Then: "_Coby_?"

The pink-haired boy nodded, seeming calm, which was more than could be said for Emma, who was sweating buckets by this stage.

"You're the one that they've been looking for." Coby took a step towards her.

"Wh-who's _they_?" Emma stammered, staring back at Coby without meeting his gaze. Her sunglasses were long gone, and so was the straw hat - she hoped that she hadn't lost it.

"The World Government." Coby replied.

"I didn't do it!" Emma cried.

"Didn't do what?"

"Whatever it is that they're accusing me of." Emma mumbled. She held up her hands, noticing that the cut on her left wrist was still hurting, and bleeding a little bit but not a lot - it wasn't a very deep cut. "Look, Coby, I'm not the bad guy here - I'm an innocent victim, just like you were on Alvida's ship."

Coby paled ever-so-slightly at the mention of his former Captain's name, but did his best to remain composed. "How do _you_ know about _that_?" He asked her.

"Look, you know that you're in a different world now, right?" Emma asked him. He nodded. "Well, there are many strange and unexplainable things in this world, okay?"

"Stop stalling!" Coby snapped, making her flinch. Okay, so he was _definitely_ NOT the same boy that he had been in episode one! "I have my orders, and I'm not backing down!" He began walking towards her.

"Hey, you can't attack me, I'm untrained!" Emma cried, desperation taking over as her feet suddenly moved of their own accord, not to run away, but into her fighting stance. "Well, that's not true, I'm a _little_ bit trained, and I punched a guy the other day, but that was just a reaction!" There was suddenly a sound from her pocket, that made both her and Coby blanch.

"_You will remember the night you were struck by the sight of, Ten Thousand Fists in the air_!" David Draiman's voice ran out from Emma's mobile phone, which she answered gingerly.

"He-hello? ... Oh, hi, _Nee-San_..." She muttered, and then gasped, just as Coby attacked her.

"Emma, what's going on?!" Sarah demanded to know, with no way of knowing what her sister was going through right now.

"Umm, not much..." Emma replied, rolling across the deck and then getting up as quickly as she could. "Just...watching a DVD with Krystal!"

"You're not." Sarah said coldly. "I called Krystal's house - you're not there, Emma."

"Why did you call Krystal's house, why didn't you just call my mobile?" Emma demanded to know, somehow managing to dodge another punch from Coby, although _just_ _barely_. Her heart was pounding. _Great! Of all the ways I could've gone out, I'm going to get killed by COBY_!

"I'm calling your mobile now." Sarah pointed out.

"Touche."

Just then, Coby's fist connected with Emma's shoulder, making her gasp in pain but, surprisingly, she could handle it. _Yeah, come on Coby, do your worst! This is NOTHING compared to when my folks lose their tempers! Ha-ha!_

It's probably best to point out that, at this moment, Emma was panicking. She clutched her shoulder with her free hand, and the phone and compass dangled from her other hand. Her heart was pounding.

"Emma, what was that?" Sarah asked.

"Hang on a sec, _Nee-San_." Emma said calmly, and then she glared at Coby. "Coby, would you stop this for _five_ _freaking_ _seconds_ while I talk to my sister?!"

Coby froze.

"Emma..." Sarah asked, a note of wonder creeping into her voice. "Are you with a boy...?"

"Umm..." Just then, Emma realised that her five seconds were up and, just then, Coby was directly in front of her, and had his right forearm across the front of her chest, pushing her back against the railing.

The phone and the compass flew from her grip, and she made a desperate grab for them, but only succeeded in grabbing the compass by its chain. Her phone fell to the dark waters below, and landed with a very audible _splash_ down there.

"_AHH_!" Emma screamed.

* * *

On the shore, the fight had escalated.

A lanky boy with messy black hair casually picked up his straw hat, which was lying on the sand. After returning the hat to his head, Monkey D. Luffy joined in the fight, helping the Whitebeard Pirates to take on the Marines that had just shown up.

Ace, especially, looked like he was having fun, getting some _sweet_ payback on the Marines for locking him up and trying to execute him before. The Whitebeard Pirates, too, were doing what they did best - living up to their fearsome reputation.

Luffy looked towards the Whitebeard Pirates' ship where, a few minutes ago, Emma had been sent flying to by Whitebeard himself. He had a feeling that she'd had something to do with their sudden transformation, and hoped that she was okay but, it wasn't to be.

"_AHH_!"

Luffy, Ace and Law all looked up at the sound of Emma's scream, the sound reaching their ears like a thousand and one shards of glass.

For some odd reason, hearing that was one of the _worst_ things they could have heard. Luffy, however, was suddenly engaged in combat by two Devil Fruit using Marines, and Ace was tied up with nineteen Marines of his own (where were they all coming from?).

That only left Law.

"Law!" Luffy shouted above the noise. "Can you...?!"

"Ya, I'm already on it." The doctor muttered.

* * *

Emma was seething. "You...my phone...my parents are going to _kill_ me! You, Coby, will be responsible for my death!" She told him.

"You have _bigger_ worries, Demon Of War." Coby told her, alerting her for the first time to the fact that she now had an epithet.

"No." Said a voice from behind Coby. "_You_ do."

Coby froze, hearing the cool sarcasm in the voice, and slowly turning to see...

"Law-San!" Emma cried, relieved to see the surgeon, who had also reclaimed his human-form. And, slowly, her relief turned to shock. _H-HANDSOME_! Was her first thought because, indeed, the young man _was_ handsome - they didn't make them like that in this world. Cool grey eyes, that facial hair and, of course, the trademark smirk...no doubt about, if the fan-girls could see this now, then there'd be a shark feeding frenzy from all the blood going overboard.

But, more importantly, he was here to save her!

That might be a problem, though and, as Coby let her go, Emma dashed to grab onto Law's arm. "_Ne_, Law-San, please don't hurt him _too_ much - he's Luffy's friend."

Law glanced down at her, and noticed her red her face was, which made him smirk. "You'll owe me for it."

Emma blushed even harder. "Umm, how?"

"You'll see." Law replied, before turning back to Coby and muttering: "_Room_."

* * *

Marco flew over when he was summoned by Whitebeard.

"Marco!" Whitebeard yelled to him, easily taking down about sixty Marines. "Get back to that girl and get her to use her powers to send these guys back to our world! This is getting troublesome!"

"_Hai_, _Oyaji_!" Marco replied.

"That'll be a problem, _Oyaji_!" Ace called suddenly. "Emma doesn't know _how_ to use her powers!"

"Well, she's gonna have to learn fast!" Whitebeard replied, as Marco flew off.

The Phoenix flew back to the Moby Dick, and landed on the railing, watching in silence at the scene going on before him.

Trafalgar Law was currently using his powers to create what resembled a Chop-Chop Circus with Coby's body-parts, much to the pink-haired boy's dismay. There was no way for him to overpower Law like this.

Marco then noticed Emma, standing off to one side and looking stunned, as she held onto her shoulder. He flew over to her. "Emma," he said, and she looked up at him. He held a hand out to her. "I need you to come with me."

Emma took his hand, and then was surprised when he pulled her up, holding her to his chest as he flew up to the crow's nest. Once there, thankfully, he let go of her, and said: "_Oyaji_ wants you to use your powers to send the Marines back to their own world - can you do that?"

Emma looked nervous. "N-no, I mean...I-I don't know _how_ to, Marco-San! I don't know how to use my powers!"

"Just calm down, and try, Emma." Marco replied calmly. He reached out, and put his hands on her shoulders - it was comforting. "Now, think for a second about your Devil Fruit powers. Close your eyes, and try to picture your powers - picture a name for it all..."

Emma did as she was told, trying to block out all of the outside noise, and focusing only on what Marco was telling her to do. _Okay, think...focus Emma, this is no time for your ADD to kick in...okay, focus...focus on what the cute bird-man is telling you to say, with his lazy and cute voice...aurgh, no, this is no time for the female-hormones to be kicking in, either! People are counting on you out there...Whitebeard must _know_ something that you _don't_...I feel like _everybody_ knows stuff that I don't...like that crazy, blue-eyed lady...she was the one that got me into this mess in the first place...her giving me this necklace and those Japanese Sultanas..._wait a minute_...they were..._

In her mind's eyes, suddenly, she could picture the box she had been given, that contained the cut-up Devil Fruit...that hadn't been Kanji on the box, it had been...Katakana...and, the Katakana had read the same name as one of the hamsters from _Hamtaro_...

Emma opened her eyes suddenly, smiling as red and gold ribbons began snaking out of her chest, near to where her necklace was.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Mi_." She said and, as she did, the ribbons shot away from her, snaking through the air like red and gold dragons, twisting around each other and multiplying. "_Transport_!" She added, and mentally added: _Authority figures only...ah, but not Grandpa Garp_!

She didn't want him to leave yet! She wanted to get to know him better, and everybody else, too! Now that they were finally all here, she wanted to meet them all!

"M-Marco-San," Emma asked him tentatively, as she sensed her ribbons working their magic. They even wrapped around the Marines' ship. "What about...you guys...will you be leaving, too?"

Marco gazed steadily at her, and then shook his head, tapping a finger to the compass that she was wearing. As soon as he did, the needle began spinning.

"Hmm? What is this?" Emma wanted to know.

"This compass isn't normal, obviously." Marco told her, and an image appeared above it, like a hologram.

It showed a cat, in a sort of pinkish-red hue due to the compass' powers, hissing as he tried to keep a group of random strangers away from three swords.

Emma stared at the image, her heart pounding. "It...it's showing me one of Luffy's crew-mates! That's Roronoa Zoro, I'm sure of it! He's here! In this world!"

Marco nodded. "Seems that way, doesn't it? This is the _Tomodachi No Konpasu_ - I think it's been given to us for a reason."

Emma could only nod, feeling slightly freaked out by all of this.

Marco ruffled her hair. "Hey, calm down - this is supposed to be fun, remember?"

* * *

Marco carried Emma down from the crows-nest, to discover that all of the Marines - plus the police - were gone (the ship, too), and that everybody else was onboard the Moby Dick.

Emma felt incredibly self-conscious all-of-a-sudden, and half-hid behind an amused Marco, that is until Luffy leapt through the crowd and crash-tackled her.

"Emmy!" He cried, hugging her fiercely.

"Ah, Luffy!" Emma gasped, blushing the same colour as Luffy's top. "You-you're back to being a human! Umm, Ace, too...?"

The man himself came through the crowd, grinning as his little brother stood up and pulled Emma to her feet. "Yup - looks like that compass is a lot more important than we thought it would be."

"Ace, you have _no_ idea." Emma replied, turning quickly to Luffy. Luffy was easier for her to look at - he was cute, but not anywhere _close_ to the level of handsomeness that Ace and Law were. The fact that Ace was shirtless did _not_ help matters, _one little bit_. "Luffy, I need to tell you..."

"Ems!" Ace suddenly grabbed her shoulder, making her wince but not _too_ much. He began dragging her through the crowd. "Come on, I've got somebody that I want you to meet!"

"Huh?" Emma allowed herself to be dragged along. "Wait, Ace, who is..._ah_!" She gasped, seeing the towering man that was Edward Newgate, even though he was sitting down, for the first time, and in person! "Ah..." She said again, going from completely red to completely pale, all in a matter of seconds. He was even _more_ than she'd _imagined_ him to be!

Yellow eyes met hazel ones.

One of the nurses who had, up until recently, been a tiger-striped tabby cat, stepped forwards suddenly, concerned. "Oh dear, somebody catch her, quickly, she's going to..."

Emma fainted, landing with a very audible _thunk_ onto the wooden deck.

"Faint." The nurse finished meekly, as everybody else just stared.

Ace was horrified. "Hey, wait a minute, you never said anything about _fainting_!" He quickly knelt down beside her, freaking out slightly. "Come on, Ems, what about all that stuff you wanted to say to him, about how cool he is and everything! You said you really wanted to meet him!"

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

All eyes were on the unconscious figure, lying on the deck there.

Law sighed, stepping through the crowd and kneeling down beside her. His eyes narrowed slightly, as he pulled down the collar of her dress, to reveal the injury on her shoulder. "How troublesome you are, Emma-San." He murmured, thinking that he'd have to remind her later on that she still owed him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**_Butterfly_, by Delta Goodrem. watch?v=Vs0mq20-xYk**

**The song on Emma's phone is _Ten Thousand Fists_, by Disturbed. David Draiman is my Rock-God. watch?v=JyxBiUbCP8E**

**Emma's scream of "AHH" sounded like Lisa's scream from _The Saddle Club_, where she falls off of Prancer whilst performing a dangerous jump. **** watch?v=jC96EL1jf30**

**Where did Garp go?**

* * *

Cocoa Liddell - I'd LOVE to get a hug from Ace, seriously! XD Thanks for the review!

Wolf Spirite - aww, thank you, you're too kind! ^/ / / /^ Zoro as a green cat...OMG, that'd be EPIC! We'll see...

KaiF. Raphaella - thank you! I try and update as much as I can (for example, it is 2:05AM here, right now...)

Chieko Namikaze - I KNEW it! (Lol, your review came in just as I was about to post this chapter, so I had to go back and add this in). Thanks for the review! ^^


	7. Legends And Lies

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN

Legends And Lies

* * *

_Little Death frowned, clenching her tiny fists into balls as she tried to control her temper. She didn't want to hurt Sakazuki - not yet, anyway. But, now there was a problem._

_"How did she do that?" Little Death muttered to herself, floating in the air next to the Admiral, who said nothing. He was wondering the same thing._

_"Not only that," Kuzan was there, too. They gazed out over the infirmary, where the Marines that had been fighting the Whitebeard Pirates had shown up suddenly. The strangest part was, that they were covered in ribbons, which disappeared upon contact. "But, four people from the other world...including a mighty sexy lady with eyes like ice..."_

_Sakazuki's gaze drifted over to Carmilla, who was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling with an unreadable expression. Her hands were clutching at the white sheets, and she was biting her lip so hard that it bled slightly._

_Her ice-blue eyes flickered over to Sakazuki, and he was suddenly able to read the expression in them - anger, at herself, and the fact that she had just failed. He knew that look all-too-well, he had seen it so many times, and the thought made him angry - those pirates would pay _dearly_ for this. Their constant acts of treason was a constant thorn in his side, and it was suddenly becoming paramount to sort out this problem._

_Turning to Little Death, he asked her: "Can you not send them back to their own world?"_

_Little Death frowned, shaking her head. If Sakazuki had to guess, he'd say her physical age - and, some of her mental age - was stuck at about five years old, maybe six. It seemed an unlikely alliance, but Sakazuki had his reasons. Fire-Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy had been _within_ his grasp - but, this Emma Pax...the Demon Of War, as they were now calling her, had stopped him from achieving his goal. Little Death was a question in herself, but she was also an answer. "No...it's against rules...if I break the rules too many times, they can find me..."_

_"Who's they?"_

_"The others."_

_Sakazuki realised that he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of her right now, and turned around, coming face-to-face with Emma._

_Emma stared at him, and he stared back at her, before Little Death and Kuzan turned around._

_As they watched, Little Death's face changed, and it became so dark that it would've put any evil man to shame. "You!" She pointed a finger at Emma, accusingly. "You're the one who asked Twister to turn those pirates back into people!"_

_"I did not, it was the compass!" Emma replied, and then suddenly seemed to notice the two Admirals on either side of the goddess. She swallowed, and looked nervous. "This is _not_ what I told my career's counselor at school..." She murmured, taking a half-step back. "I said I wanted to be a policewoman, then a pensioner...not a pirate!"_

_"It's a bit late for that." Sakazuki muttered, activating his Devil Fruit power._

_Emma clenched her fists, which Kuzan noticed were shaking. "Okay...time to wake up now..." She muttered and, although her necklace glowed slightly, nothing happened. "What the...oh no!" She gasped. "The anesthetic!"_

Anesthetic_? Kuzan wondered, also activating his Devil Fruit powers, as he noticed the bandage on her shoulder. _What does she mean by that? Is she asleep in the other world? Is that how she's coming here, via her dreams?_ It was weird but, hey, he'd heard weirder._

_Emma suddenly turned and bolted, turning a corner that was conveniently right there and rushing through a nearby door, hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a broom cupboard._

_She was wrong - it wasn't a broom cupboard, it was a roomful of Marines, listening to a lecture about the proper way to tie knots._

_"Ah, Madoka-Sama, you're right on time!" The Captain at the front of the room smiled at her._

_Emma cringed, but then put on her best fake smile and dashed to the front of the room. "This is how you tie a figure-eight knot!" She demonstrated so quickly they hardly saw it - it was the only knot that she knew how to tie. The door to the room flew open, and Sakazuki and Kuzan burst in. "And _this_ is how you make a hasty getaway!" Emma added, bolting through another door. "Remember to use that knot I just showed you when climbing rocks!" She yelled over her shoulder._

_"She's right." The Captain admitted, as Sakazuki and Kuzan gave chase again._

_Emma ran down a corridor, aware that the two Admirals would be upon her at any second when, suddenly, a figure appeared right in front of her, making her have to stop suddenly, as she stared up in horror at Admiral Borsalino._

_"Going somewhere?" He asked casually, looking down at her with that same smile on his face._

_Hearing footsteps coming from behind her, Emma made a split-second decision. "Such a nice day, I think I'll go out the window."_

_She'd never jumped _through_ a window before - she would have been sorely embraced if it hadn't broken and she'd just bounced back. Heck, she would've DIED. Luckily, fate or something was on her side, as she crashed through the window, shielding her face from the fragments of glass._

Unfortunately_, they were on, like, the ninety-second story of some huge building, and Emma found herself falling, knowing that one of the Admirals was going to come after her, or (maybe it was better) just let her die._

_Just then, she felt the necklace around her neck grow warm. "Yes!" She cried, feeling herself being wrapped up into the ribbons, which carried her back to her own world..._

* * *

The first thing that Emma became aware of when she woke up was that she was on a ship. She could feel the steady swaying of the ship, and hear the crashing of waves.

The second thing that she could hear was somebody screaming - it was Luffy!

With a gasp, Emma jumped out of bed and, ignoring the throbbing pain in her shoulder, she ran from the room that she was in, hardly paying attention to the fact that it was quite nicely furnished. She ran out into a huge hallway, and followed the sound of Luffy's screaming, her heart pounding.

_Did the Marines find us again? Are we in danger?_

Emma's footsteps pounded down the hallways and through the corridors, until she reached a room that had a cross on the door, and read: _Infirmary_.

Emma burst through the doors. "_Luffy_?!" She cried, and stopped. She blinked.

Luffy was being held down by Ace, as Law attempted to remove the stitches in Luffy's side.

Ace glanced up. "Oh, hey, Ems!" He grinned. Then: "Why are you covered in glass?"

Emma widened her eyes slightly, and held up her arms. Tiny fragments of glass fluttered from her, and glistened on the ground. "Oh. That. Well...I jumped through a window."

"What window?" Ace wanted to know.

"I..."

"OW!" Luffy suddenly yelled, startling Emma. "Law, haven't you ever heard the _gentle_ treatment?!"

"Maybe the stitches just weren't put in right." Law replied.

"Hey! I resent that!" Emma snapped, leaning against the doorframe. "So, umm...you guys are...humans again...wow...just...wow..."

Law glanced up briefly from what he was doing to smirk at her. "What is it?" He asked her knowingly.

"N-nothing!" She stammered, waving her hands. She watched as he finished taking out the stitches, and then bandaged Luffy back up again.

"Emma-San, _don't_ lie to me." Law reminded her. He got up and began walking towards her. "You know what happens when you do..."

"N-no, really, it's nothing!" Emma exclaimed, throwing her hands up in a half-hearted self-defense and, at once, the compass around her neck glowed, and emitted a purplish-blue light.

And, when it cleared, Emma was left staring at three cats again.

The cats stared back at her, and she felt her knees grow weak. She collapsed to her knees, and wailed: "Well _now_ what do I do?!"

* * *

It took awhile for Emma to calm down, and for her to figure out how to use the compass. It was strange, however, that only Luffy, Ace and Law had been effected by it this time - everyone else had stayed human. At least Marco had been able to help her figure it out, and she was _dying_ to ask him how he knew so much but, first things were first - she had to go and meet Whitebeard.

Walking out onto the deck, she suddenly felt like her feet were made of lead. She tripped on a non-existent floorboard that wasn't there, and had to grab onto Ace's arm to steady herself.

He turned to look at her.

She wondered how he'd gotten back his hat and beads. She was _dying_ to try on his hat...

"Ace, c-can I ask you a personal qu-question?" She stammered.

He raised an eyebrow.

"_How_ did you manage to face Whitebeard with the intent to _kill_ him, and _not_ turn into a basket-case?!"

Ace stared at her for a moment, before laughing. Emma just stared at him, confused as to why he was laughing at her, and waited until he'd calmed down. She was blushing.

He smiled. "I'm sorry, it's just that...nobody's ever asked me that before."

"I did." said Marco, who was walking past.

"Yeah, that's because you wanted to use it as blackmail against me." Ace shot back, before turning back to Emma with a grin. "You _really_ wanna know?" She nodded. He cupped his hands against her ear, and whispered: "It's because I'm a _pirate_."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "That told me _nothing_!" She said, as they continued towards the deck. Everyone seemed to be up there, which only made Emma feel more nervous, and that was _not_ a good thing.

She clung to Ace's arm tightly, and shut her eyes, not seeing that the compass around her neck was glowing again, until she opened her eyes because she was not holding onto Ace as a cat.

The Whitebeard Pirates, as cats, all stared at her, as did Whitebeard himself - like the others, he had been turned back into a cat.

Emma sunk to her knees. "M-maybe...maybe I only add to your problems..."

"It...it isn't you." Ace assured her, sighing.

Emma examined the compass. "The _Tomodachi No Konpasu_, huh?" _The Compass Of Friendship_? _I wonder what that means...ah, that's right! I still have to tell Luffy about Zoro_! "Hey, Luffy!" She called.

He appeared immediately from below deck. "Hey, Emmy, what's...huh? Why is everybody a cat again?" He was still a human, as was Law, who was behind him.

Emma held up the compass. "_This_ had something to do with it - it's incredible! Not only that but, Luffy, guess what!" She motioned him over, and he came over to her. "Zoro's been turned into a cat somewhere, too! The compass showed me!"

Luffy's eyes widened. "Really? No way! So, where is he?"

Emma shrugged. "I have _no_ idea." Luffy's face fell. She took his shoulders. "But, I promise to do everything that I can to help you find him. Friends, remember?" She added, uncertainly. Maybe she was pushing it by suddenly announcing it out-loud.

But, Luffy just grinned at her, and held out his hand. "Right - Nakama." He reminded her.

"I didn't decide yet."

"Just shake my hand."

She took his hand. "So, when do we start searching?"

"How about now?" Luffy suggested.

"Right...no, wrong!" Emma exclaimed, suddenly feeling panicked. "I have to get back home, and straighten things out with my sister...ooh, damn it, Coby made me drop my mobile phone into the sea! I hope that _Nee-San_ didn't tell Mum!"

"Emmy, relax!" Luffy told her firmly. "It'll be okay! I promise." He added, and she gulped.

She nodded. "O-okay then..." She stood up, and so did he. "Let me just go and get my bag..."

"_Hold it_!" Yelled about sixty people.

"Huh?" Emma turned around. "Oh, right..._sumimasen_...umm..." She concentrated on the compass, and felt it glow around her chest. The pinkish-red light expanded again, and turned all of the cats back into people.

Emma found herself gazing at Whitebeard.

She found herself looking at the left side of his face, and was suddenly immensely glad that Sakazuki hadn't destroyed it in the battle.

"Come here." He ordered her, and she did so, feeling nervous. He held out his hand. "Give me the compass."

Emma reached up to take it from around her neck, only to discover that it wouldn't budge. "What the Hell...?" She muttered, swallowing. "It...it won't come off..."

Whitebeard sighed. "Just as I thought...it's imprinted with her, hasn't it, Marco?"

"Seems that way, _Oyaji_." Marco replied.

Emma glanced at him. "H-how do you you know so much about it?" She asked him.

"I read it in a book." Marco stated calmly. "The compass was said to imprint with whomever needed it the most at the time. In this case, I'm guessing that it's _you_."

"Wh-why me?" Emma stammered, glancing up at Whitebeard. _Why is he so big? Is he from Samoa?_ "I j-just got dragged into all of this, Whi...uh, Edw...umm..." She shot Ace a desperate Look that read: _What am I supposed to call him?_

Ace just shrugged.

Emma sighed, and turned back to look at Whitebeard. He was regarding her intently, making her feel nervous. He then reached out a hand towards her and, on instinct, she flinched.

* * *

_"I'm sorry, I won't do it again!"_

_"That's what you said last time, you little bitch!"_

_SLAP!_

* * *

_"I'm really sorry! Dad, please stop!"_

_SLAP!_

* * *

_"Sarah, wait, I-"_

_SLAP!_

* * *

_The pain of being struck by her own family members, as they lost their tempers for whatever reasons, was far less painful than the feeling of emptiness that she felt in her chest. Like a hole had formed, and it was slowly starting to get bigger until, eventually, it had consumed her entirely..._

* * *

Emma was shaking like a leaf, her eyes tight shut, when she opened them slowly, however, she realised that everybody was staring at her.

She glanced up, to see Whitebeard watching her, still intently, but his eyes were a whole lot softer now.]. He still had his hand there, and she looked at it uncertainly.

"Emma Pax," Whitebeard said to her, in his gruff voice. "I want to thank you for what you did for us." Emma was too stunned to say anything, as were most of the crew. Ace, however, was grinning. "Ace and Marco told me everything, and I remember seeing you at Marineford now. The World Government has referred to you as the Demon Of War, and are surely out for your blood by now. I owe you, however, for saving my son's life."

_Omigosh, omigosh, OMI-FRAGGING-GOSH!_ Emma thought, managing to remain poker-faced throughout all of this. _I just got a 'thank you' from Edward Newgate, and he said he owes me! Could this be the best day of my LIFE?_ Learning how to canter when horse-back-riding up in Chidlow...finally getting to go to Malaysia for her twenty-first...learning that she passed her first semester of TAFE last year...? _We have a new winner!_

But, all she said was: "_Dōitashimashite_, _Whitebeard-Sama_." She took his hand (which was more like his finger, because he was about the same size as freaking Bumblebee from Transformers!) and bowed her head briefly. "But...I'm nothing special, really. I just...want to help you all."

"Why?" Whitebeard wanted to know.

That was an excellent question. Emma glanced up at him, and then across at Ace. She may not have realised it at the time, but she was blushing, and this did not go unnoticed by the boy's Father.

He was beginning to understand what Monkey D. Garp had meant, when the Vice Admiral had dared to approach them, requesting that they assist this young lady who was helping Ace. Whitebeard had been hesitant at agreeing to the Marine's request but, in the end, he was glad that he had. This could turn out to be _very_ interesting...

* * *

Emma watched blankly as Ace and Luffy ate their lunches, which seemed to be enough lunch for a hundred people. Next to her, Law just calmly sipped on some tea, not seeming too concerned, considering that they were in the dining room of a pirate ship that was not Law's own. He was doing his best to keep to himself, and everybody seemed to be giving him a wide berth. Emma was sure that everybody had their eyes on him, though.

Or, on her.

Emma was just finishing up her soup (which was delicious) and set her spoon down carefully, when Ace said to her: "Hey, Ems - you should sing for us!"

At once, everything in the dining room went quiet and, suddenly, all eyes really _were_ on her.

"_Aiyee_..." Emma muttered, tugging at her dress collar, and feeling a dull ache in her left arm, either from Coby's punch of doom, or from the cut that Louie had given her. "Do I _have_ to?" She whispered.

"Mmhmm." The two brothers said in unison, earning them a glare that was more like a grimace from Emma. "If you don't, we'll tell the crew your secret." Ace added.

"What secret?!"

"That secret."

"There's no secret."

"Yeah there is." Ace grinned at her.

_Fine, if _that's_ the way you want to play it._ Emma thought, standing up suddenly. _Two can play at _that_ game_. She thought for a moment, and then opened her mouth and began to sing the Ikimono-Gakari song _Uruwashiki-Hito_, her voice starting out soft but eventually gaining more power, though it still maintained its soft approach. She was thrilled when it didn't waver on the high notes, but kept her eyes closed, so she didn't see how mesmerized everybody looked until the end of the song, when she opened her eyes.

Most people immediately started clapping, much to her shock, and she quickly ducked her head, but then she remembered...

Smiling evilly, she walked up to the nearest person, which happened to be Marco, and pulled out her camera, pressing the 'review' button and bringing up the picture of the two black cats sleeping together.

"Aren't Ace and Luffy _adorable_?" Emma asked Marco.

Marco laughed. "Hey, Vista, come and check this out!" He called over the man with the mustache, and the man himself came over, followed by a few others and soon a lot of people were crowded around.

"Aww, look at the cute little kitties!"

"Such brotherly love!"

Ace and Luffy glanced over.

"Hey, Emmy, what are you showing them?!" Luffy called to her.

Emma's smile was positively evil. "Oh, just _your_ secret." She said.

Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance.

"She didn't..." Ace gasped.

"I think she _did_!" Luffy exclaimed.

Together, the two of them stood up. "Let's get her!"

"_Eek_!" Emma cried, grabbing the camera and taking off running. "Tell everybody that I died young!" She called over her shoulder, bolting from the dining hall as the two brothers of D. gave chase.

Most people laughed at this, amused by the young ones' antics. Only Law was not not smiling - there was a dark look in his eyes.

* * *

Emma decided to hide in the crows nest, since she figured it would be the _last_ place the two brothers would look for her and her camera, which she stashed back into her bag.

Up in the crow's nest, Emma met one of the only female members of the crew. She had noticed that there weren't very many of them.

Like the other nurses, she wore the pink uniform. Her hat, however, did not have the red cross on it, making Emma think that she was a nurse-in-training. She looked young, maybe about fifteen, and had long dark blonde plaited pigtails and teal-coloured eyes.

"Hi." She said, by way of greeting.

"H-hello." Emma stammered, wondering if she was welcomed up here.

The nurse smiled at her. "Don't be afraid, I don't bite." She patted a spot on the seat next to her. "Come on, sit down." So, Emma did so, feeling nervous. "So, what brings you up here?" The nurse wanted to know.

Suddenly, from below them, they heard Ace cry: "Now, where on this ship did she run off to?!"

"We'll find her!" Luffy declared. "We _have_ to - she was showing everybody incriminating pictures of us!"

"Luffy...do you even _know_ what incriminating _means_?"

"Well...sure I do!" Luffy replied. "_Shishishishi_!" He ran off, followed closely by Ace.

Emma and the nurse rolled their eyes.

"My name's Sumi, by the way." The nurse introduced herself.

"E-Emma," the red-head replied. "Which, I'm sure you already know." Sumi smiled, and nodded. Emma mentally panicked. _Okay, NOW what do I say?! Conversation topics...something...anything!_ "So, umm...you're a nurse?" _What the Hell?!_

Sumi just continued to smile, and nodded again. "Sure am...well, a nurse-in-training aboard this ship - I was the doctor onboard Ace's ship back then."

Emma was shocked. Sumi was a former member of the Spade Pirates! "You...so then, you've known Ace for...?"

"Four years now." Sumi smiled at her. "And, I gotta say, I've never seen him like this before."

"Like what?" Emma was genuinely confused.

Sumi laughed. "Oh dear, you're as clueless as he isn't, aren't you?" She shook her head. "Still, Ace-Kun has a way with people...he's good at getting them to see the good in themselves, but I doubt he can see much of it in himself..." She touched a hand to her neck, where a bunch of white scars sat in a ring around her neck.

Emma didn't dare to ask how she'd gotten them, and instead asked her: "S-Sumi-San...?"

"Call me -Chan." Sumi said abruptly.

Emma was taken aback, but then she smiled, also. "Sumi-Chan, tell me...what's it like being a pirate? Is it fun?"

Sumi nodded. "Sure it's fun, Emma-Chan, but it can also be dangerous - the two go hand-in-hand, of course! But, with a family like _this_ one," she gestured to the deck, where the crew was milling. "I know that I've got _nothing_ to worry about. They've got my back, and I've got theirs."

"Hmm..." Emma mused, looking up at the sky. "I always read that you guys call Whitebeard-Sama '_Oyaji_'...he really considers you to be like his sons and daughters?"

Sumi looked up at the sky also. Clouds drifted lazily by on the mild day. An osprey flew overhead. "Most of us have never _had_ a family to go to for help, so it was a bit weird at first...it certainly took Ace-Kun awhile to get used to!" She grinned. "He tried over a hundred times to take _Oyaji's_ life but, in the end, you'll find nobody more loyal to our Father than what he is."

Emma swallowed. "Hmm...I guess so..."

Sumi turned to look at her. "Emma, thank you for saving Ace-Kun the way you did..."

"But I didn't..."

"_Yes_, you did." Sumi replied firmly. "It doesn't matter that you read about him in some comic book (which, by the way, I'd like to read sometime) - what matters is that you desired to save him and, so, you did. You saved all of us, actually."

"Sumi-Chan...the comic book series didn't do that whole war justice (I'll lend you a few copies, if you'd like). More people were hurt than I'd ever seen before...I only did it because nobody else _could_." Emma replied.

Sumi rolled her beautiful eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say - Demon Of War."

Emma groaned. "Are they _really_ calling me that?" She reached a hand up to her throat but then, not wanting to mimic Sumi, she dropped her hand to the compass, which immediately lit up.

Sumi gasped. "Emma-Chan, what's that?!" She stared in wonder at the scene.

Emma did as well, looking at the image projected up by the compass. "It's...it's Zoro!" She realised, recognizing that same cat. "But...where's his swords?"

Zoro was looking up at a shop, and there was a steely glint in his eyes, as he looked up at the shop.

Sumi was leaning forwards, and suddenly, she gasped again. "Wait! I know that shop!"

"What?!"

Sumi nodded, her pigtails swinging. "Uh-huh! That's Ippon-Matsu's Sword Shop! It's in..."

"Louge Town..." Emma whispered, realising at once what was happening. "Zoro's still in your world, but...he's stuck as a cat, and he needs our help!" She stood up swiftly, and the hologram disappeared. "I have to go and tell Luffy!" She declared, before turning to climb down from the crows nest. "Let's just hope that he doesn't attack me for showing everyone that photo of him and Ace curled up together as cats."

"Ooh, lemme see!"

Emma showed Sumi the picture, and then they both climbed down onto the deck, and went looking for the two brothers.

* * *

"So, what are we going to do?"

They were sitting in the state room, and it was Ace who had spoken. He was sitting in a chair with his hands behind his head, completely at ease now that he'd found his crew-mates.

"What do you mean, 'what are we going to do'?" Luffy repeated, looking surprised. "We're going to go and find Zoro, of course!"

"Yeah, but how are we going to do that?" Ace asked calmly.

All eyes turned to Emma, except for Whitebeard, who was drinking.

The large man took a large swig of sake, before clearing his throat, and everyone looked at him, except for Law. He continued to gaze at Emma, which unnerved her slightly as she turned to face Ace's captain.

"I suggest," Whitebeard said steadily (how could he always sound so steady when he drank so much?). "That you all go back to this little brat's house," he gestured to Emma, who tried not to bristle. "And get some rest. Then, she can use her powers to transport you all back to our own world."

Emma gasped, despite herself. "Can...can I do that?" She wondered, staring at her hands. "I mean...you know...I've never done anything like this before, and I...yeah..."

"It doesn't matter if you have or haven't, brat." Whitebeard interrupted her and, this time, she really _did_ bristle. They all heard the sharp intake of breath, and Law found himself smirking. Whitebeard ignored all of this, knowing that, despite all of her shyness, she was as stubborn as a mule - he had her pegged. "You're involved in this now, whether you like it or not. If you so desire to help everyone, like you keep saying, then you're going to _have_ to do it." He sat back, and waited.

Emma considered this, staring at a spot on the table. She took a deep breath, and Luffy looked at her in anticipation. "Okay...here's what I think we should do. We go back to my house, and I try and straighten things out with my sister. We spend a few days recovering, and I go to TAFE like nothing's happened. Then, on Friday...we go and get Zoro."

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed, grinning now. he hadn't been worried, though - he'd known that Emma would come through for him.

Ace was smiling, too. "Sounds like a plan, then."

Emma looked up. "Do you guys...really intend to come and stay with me some more?" Nobody missed the hope in her voice, or the nervous way that she picked at her nails.

Law sighed, and came over to her, grabbing her hands to stop her from assaulting her nails anymore. Looking into her eyes intently, and smirking at the way she blushed, he said: "You owe me, remember? You're not getting rid of _me_, at least not yet."

Emma gulped, wondering about the implications behind that. Luffy was distracted by a seagull outside the window, and Whitebeard was watching Ace. His son was staring...no, _glaring_, at Law, his fists clenched at his sides.

Whitebeard sighed quietly. How troublesome.

Emma suddenly stood up, and addressed Law, Luffy and Ace as one. "Then let me just say this - I can turn you back into cats in the blink of an eye, and I will _not_ hesitate to do so if you annoy me! Law, that means _no_ creepy stuff, and _no_ using that Devil Fruit power of yours, because it's just as creepy as you are, and _yes_ I am telling you what to do, so _don't_ give me that look! Ace, if you _ever_ drink my parents' alcohol again, I _will_ see to it that you never have kids, because my parents are going to _kill_ me anyway, and Hell's fury hath _nothing_ on them, _believe_ me!" She suddnely turned to Luffy, who flinched. "And Luffy, no...uh, no..."

"Emma-Chan!" Sumi suddenly burst into the room, looking excited about something. "I need you for a minute!" She smiled quickly at her Father, before gesturing to Emma. "Come on!"

"Coming, Sumi-Chan!" Emma responde,d and hurried to the door.

"Well what about his guidelines?!" Ace exclaimed, gesturing to Luffy, who glared at him.

Emma came back in. "Think of something you really like doing that annoys people." She told him. "You got it?" He nodded. "Well no that!"

As Emma left again, leaving Luffy, Ace and Law stunned, the three young men were startled out of this by Whitebeard's laughing.

"_Gu ra ra ra ra_! To think, three brats like you, rendered speechless by that girl!" _I'll have to keep my eye on this one_...

* * *

Up on deck, Emma was getting ready to leave when Luffy, Ace and Law appeared. They found her and Sumi standing there, and Emma was asking Sumi a bunch of rapid questions which made no sense to the three men, because they included: "Do I need to feed it?" And: "What if it dies?" Until, that is, they saw the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist.

It was pink, and had a red cross on its forehead. It's shell was teal blue, the same colour as Sumi's eyes.

Sumi looked up, and smiled when she saw Ace. "Ah, Ace-Kun, _please_ tell your girlfriend that the Den-Den Mushi can take care of itself."

Everybody blanched, and then Emma exclaimed: "I am _not_ his girlfriend!" At the same time Ace cried: "She is _not_ my girlfriend!"

They looked at each other, and then said, in perfect unison: "Why, would that be so bad?" Then: "I didn't say that, _you_ said it."

"Okay, could you two _please_ stop that?" Law asked sarcastically.

"I can, but I don't think s/he can."

Luffy was laughing. "_Shishishishi_! That was _awesome_!" Sumi joined in.

Emma and Ace exchanged a glance. Emma was blushing. Law's eyes were dark.

Meanwhile, Whitebeard had come up on-deck, and there were a few calls of: "Hello, _Oyaji_." And: "The old man's drinking again - don't tell the nurses."

Whitebeard came up to them, carrying the sake in one hand. "We'll be staying here for a few days, Ace." He told his son, looking down at him. "Use the Den-Den Mushi to keep in contact with us. If we don't hear from you at least once a week, we'll send someone to find you - _we know where you live_."

_Okay, _that's_ just creepy._ Emma thought, and then watched Ace and Whitebeard exchange a smile. _And _that_ is adorable...they really _are_ just like Father and son..._ She smiled, but then jumped when Whitebeard called her over to him.

They stood a few paces away from everybody else, but Emma could _feel_ the eyes of everybody staring holes into her. She focused her attention on her new Baby Den-Den Mushi instead, but also listened to what the ancient Captain had to say to her.

"Emma," he said, addressing her by her first name, which surprised her. "I sense a lot of fighting spirit within you, even if you don't. Learn this about yourself, or else you've got _no_ hope of helping Ace in the future."

Emma gulped, and nodded. She understood what he was saying.

"I have a proposition for you." Whitebeard went on, and Emma glanced up at him, shocked. "I think you know what it is that I'm about to say, don't you?"

_Is he...he is, isn't he?! AAAUUURRRGGGHHH!_ Emma wondered why he was asking her so suddenly and, once again, came to the conclusion that he _knew_ something that she _didn't_. Why else would he be asking her to...?

"You don't have to answer now." Whitebeard added, as if reading her mind (which, Emma reminded herself, he probably _could_). "Think about it."

Taking a deep breath, more to steady herself than anything (and, for once, she _hadn't_ been the one drinking!), she replied: "Alright. I will think about it...and let you know soon."

That was all that she could really say. Any more, and she might faint again.

"The offer will still stand."

_Somehow, I don't actually believe that he's ASKING me, is he?_ Emma thought, as she slowly walked back to the group. _I mean, in the fan fictions, whenever Whitebeard asks somebody, they usually end up joining one way or the other...hey, wait a minute, I already HAVE a Father! And, though he's a bit strict, he's still my Dad! Oh, this is so confusing!_

"Hey, Emmy, are you okay?" Luffy waved a hand in front of her face. "You look weird."

"Oh, _thanks_." She muttered sarcastically. "It may not have crossed your minds, but we have to _walk_ back to my car - I _hate_ walking!"

"Actually, much as I'd like to carry you that whole way," Ace said unexpectedly. "That won't be an issue - look." And, he pointed to the police car, that was still parked up by the beach.

Emma followed his gaze. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!" She cried.

* * *

"Ace, I hate you." Emma muttered, as she drove the police car back towards the town.

"No you don't." Ace said, grinning cheerfully from the passenger seat.

"You're right, I don't hate you." She agreed. "It goes _beyond_ hatred, it's...it's...Law-San, word, please."

"Loathe?" He drawled from the back-seat, where he was sitting next to Luffy.

"Ooh, loathe is good, I like loathe, write that one down." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Come on Ems, what's the big deal?" Ace shrugged. "On my planet, we steal Marine ships all the time."

"But, we're not _on_ your planet, are we?

"...No."

Emma sighed, and drove around to the place near to where she had parked her car. She stopped, and everybody got out. They began to trek back to the car, after Emma stowed the keys under the car's seat.

"Oh well, look on the bright side," Ace said, slinging an arm around her shoulder, much to her embarrassment. "You're gonna become a pirate soon enough anyway, so you might as well go all the way!"

"Why am I _not_ feeling reassured?" Emma grumbled, before she looked up to where her car was. "Huh?" She stopped walking, and so did everybody else.

"Is that...?" Ace squinted at the tall, broad figure who was leaning against the white Lancer, apparently waiting for them.

"It is!" Emma exclaimed.

"Yikes!" Luffy cried, and hid behind Ace, just as Garp looked up and saw them.

"AH-HA!" He bellowed, running towards them. "THERE YOU ARE!"

Emma watched in complete shock as he punched both Luffy and Ace, sending them both flying across the road. Luckily, nobody was around to see this, as the two brothers destroyed a family's triangle-shaped mailbox and nearly took out the rhododendron bush.

"EMMA IS _NOT_ GOING TO BECOME A PIRATE!" Garp shouted.

"There's nothing wrong with his ears." Law muttered.

"That's for sure." Emma agreed.

Once Garp had calmed down, he said: "I know _exactly_ what's going on right now, so there's no need to explain it to me." He crossed his arms.

"How do you know?" Luffy asked him.

"_Don't ask questions_!" Garp snapped. "Now, as for what _I_ am going to be doing with my time - I have decided to come back to Perth with you, but from there out I'll be going it alone."

"Where will you..."

"_No questions_!" Garp yelled. "I'll be coming in every day to check on you, and," he turned his gaze to Emma, who resisted the urge to hide behind Law. "To commence with _your_ training."

"T-training?" She repeated, and had a sudden vision of an obstacle course reminiscent of the one from _The Biggest Loser_.

Garp nodded. "Mmhmm. We need to get you into shape, young lady, and there's no better trainer than me!" He nodded to himself.

"I agree." Emma said unexpectedly, and then said: "That'll work out _perfectly_ if my parents won't let me continue with my martial arts. But, Grandpa Garp, h-how will you get back to my house from wherever it is that you are?"

Garp laughed. "_Bwa ha ha ha ha_! Young lady, _I_ am a Marine Vice-Admiral! I can run the length of an entire island in under a day, six times over!"

_I'd like to see him try it with _this_ particular island._ Emma thought, but all she said was: "Aww, I'm surrounded by insanely powerful, athletic people." She began pointing. "_You_ can stretch yourself like rubber and eat an entire cow without getting fat, _you_ can control fire and have the body of a god, no wait scratch that, forget I said that..._you_ just told me you can run like a zillion miles and not die, and _you_...well, I don't know quite what it is that you do, but I'm sure that it's superhuman." Emma's shoulders sank. "Meanwhile, _I_ nearly get taken out by _Coby_."

Garp seemed to find that _hilarious_, and it took him awhile to stop laughing, but only because they threatened to leave him there if he didn't shut up and get in the car.

Emma drove back to Perth in a slight fog, feeling tired and knowing that TAFE - and her sister - awaited her when she got back there...

* * *

Georgia didn't cry - Georgia _never_ cried, it was not the kind of person that she was, it just..._wasn't_.

Her eyes hurt though, and she felt a lump in her throat. Across from her, her Mother was sobbing, and her Father did his best to console her, as Georgia tried to find a place to look.

After awhile, she turned her gaze to the policeman standing awkwardly in the centre of the living room, and said: "Did my sister say what her assignment was, by any chance?" The realisation that Carmilla was _missing_, and presumed either injured or dead, seemed foreign. How could _Carmilla_ be missing? Carmilla was strong, she was unstoppable...where _was_ she?_  
_

The officer, Bradley Cates, just shook his head. "No, Ma'Am." he replied, in an American accent. "Unfortunately, the case that she was working on was classified - she wasn't obliged to discuss it with anyone."

Georgia's Father, Timothy, looked up at Bradley. "Isn't there _anything_ you can tell us?" He asked, in a tight voice.

For a moment, all that could be heard was Heather Brown's sobs.

Then, Bradley cleared his throat. "Look, Officer Brown was investigating a particularly out-of-the-ordinary case, and the only lead we have is some fingerprints we obtained over the weekend. If anything comes up and, if HQ allows it, I'll let you know." He tipped his hat to them, and bid them all a goodnight.

Georgia's Mother looked up at her, and opened her arms. Georgia hesitated, and then hurried to her Mother's arms, but she still didn't cry.

Georgia never cried.

* * *

Emma saw her sister's car still out the front when she pulled into the driveway at nine o'clock that night. Advising the now-cats to wait in the car, which she parked in the garage, Emma took a deep breath and walked inside.

Sarah Pax just about pounced on her, looking angry. "_Where_ have you _been_?!" She nearly shouted, as Ranger happily bounded over to Emma and jumped up.

"Down, Ranger." Emma said automatically and, when he did, she patted his head. "Good boy."

"I called Krystal's place but Blake said that you weren't there," Sarah accused. "And then, when I rang _you_, you were with a _boy_! Now, _what_ is going on?!" She grabbed Emma's hand and dragged her down to her room, pointing at the stain on the carpet. "_Why_ is there _blood_ on your carpet, and _scratch_ marks on your bed-post?! _Who_ is this Coby person, and does Mum know about him?"

Emma could only stare at her sister - since when did _Sarah_ start caring so much.

"_Answer_ me, or I'll tell Mum!" Sarah threatened. "You threw off my entire plans for the whole weekend - Ben and I were going to take Ngarimu and Corey to the zoo!"

That angered Emma. For years now, she'd been walked on by her sister. Last year, her sister had broken up with her partner of seven years, to start dating a much older, _married_ man from New Zealand. It had thrown the entire family into disarray when Sarah had revealed all of this. She and her ex had had to sell their house, there was money issues (Sarah now had virtually _none_, due to spending their Nanna's inheritance all on the house, all $10'000) and now Sarah was using _her_ job to pay _Ben's_ mortgage, and the child care for his four kids to his (ex)wife. Ben was an alcoholic, and he smoked marujana - when Sarah had revealed that, so too did she, it had thrown Emma completely off-balance. There was a fair amount of tension within the family, fuelled by the unknowing, and the fact that they didn't particularly _like_ the situation surrounding Ben...

Actually, Lee wasn't too fond of Ben, full stop.

Bruce wouldn't even let him in the house.

Emma turnbed to face her sister. "Look, _Nee-San_, I don't _care_ what you were _planning_ on doing this weekend! _I_ had things that _I_ needed to do, and _you_ can do _something_ for this family every once and awhile!"_  
_

"You're starting to sound just like Mum!" Sarah accused, not used to her sister fighting back like this. She knew better than to lose her temper like she had in the past, however - Lee would _kill_ her. Then again, Lee's temper was no better. "Does she know where you were?"

"No!" Emma cried. "And, _Nee-San_, you _can't_ tell her!"

"Is this Coby your boyfriend?" Sarah wanted to know.

Emma averted her gaze. "N-no, not exactly...it's pretty complicated..."

"Complicated or serious?"

"Does it matter?" Emma mumbled. "Look, Nee-San, I'm having a bad week, okay? My phone got run over by a train yesterday, I'm running out of money, and I have four assignment due in soon that I haven't even _started_..." _Plus, I am involved in things you couldn't even _begin_ to imagine_. She added mentally.

Sarah sighed. "Whatever. Look, just _don't_ ask me to do this again, understand? I won't ask about the blood, and I won't tell Mum what happened, but this is the _last_ time, okay? I won't cover for you again."

"Thanks." Emma mumbled.

"By the way, what is _that_ on your wrist?" Sarah pointed to it, and Emma froze.

She'd forgotten about the Baby Den-Den Mushi! "Uh..."

Just then, Sarah's mobile phone rang, and she hurried to answer it, saving Emma from anymore embarrassing questions. She sighed, and glanced down at the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist. She gave it a poke, and it woke up, glancing sleepily at her.

Emma smiled, and promised it some lettuce once her sister left. The Baby Den-Den Mushi blinked sleepily at her, before going back to sleep.

* * *

Boss was the only one _not_ affected by Twister's presence. Perhaps everybody was just thrown off to have the pale-skinned, black-cloaked figure in their presence after so long, since he didn't usually show up for Celestial Meetings. At least he'd left his giant sickle at home.

Luck decided to speak up.

"So, what do you wish to do about this, Boss?" He asked bravely.

Boss turned to him. "I want to go to World 790412, and get those pirates and that Marine _back_ to World 192853746, before bringing those four police officers _back_ to World 790412!"

"And, what would _that_ accomplish?" Karma asked. "Nobody would forget what they've learned, plus, things have already been thrown out of balance, right, Destiny?"

The blue-haired woman nodded glumly.

Boss sighed. "That's why Twister is here. Twister, you know what you have to do?" The man nodded. "Then, go and do it."

"Asss you wisssh, sssir..." Twister hissed, before turning and gliding from the room, and leaving everybody feeling chilled.

"Umm, sir... ?" Fate spoke up, smiling. "Any luck in tracking down Little Death yet?"

Boss shook his head. "no. The little brat's getting good at evading everyone. I really didn't want to _have_ to resort to calling her parents, but..." He reached for a conveniently-located phone, and everyone pounced on him.

"NO!" They shouted, whilst wrestling the phone away from him.

"Boss, that is the _last_ thing you'd want to do right now!" Karma cried, finally managing to secure the phone. "Please, just let us handle this!"

"Okay, fine, but all of you, _get off of me_!" He shouted. He _really_ needed that Boss Coffee now but, unfortunately, Faith had disappeared...along with Cupid...

* * *

"Ready?" Faith whispered to Cupid.

Cupid, feeling _very_ important, nodded, and readied his bow. "~_No time to be stupid, just leave it to Cupid_!~" He sung, as he aimed his arrow that had a head shaped like a heart, and Faith rolled her brilliant blue eyes at his antics. "~_With a heart as soft as a velvet glove, now open your eyes and fall in LOVE_!~" He let the arrow fly.

It pierced through veil, from the celestial realm and into the worlds of reality. Its female target was clear - it sailed through time and space, aiming for that one true heart...

Faith closed her eyes, and prayed. _This how meant to be. This way it meant to be, please understand...everybody...this Emma's DESTINY..._

Elsewhere, Destiny opened her eyes and gasped. "Faith, what have you _done_?!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Sorry for such a wait between updates, as I was so tired yesterday that I didn't get this chapter finished, but now it's done! ^^**

**. Heh, Samoa. Watch the first episode of _Lilo And Stitch: The Series_, if you don't get it. www.****youtube** watch?v=SlYCFxv2uSQ

**. _Uruwashiki Hito_, by Ikimono-Gakari - this song is LOVE! Watch the Naruto Konoha High fan-made series to hear it, and also _A Little Pain_, by Olivia Lufkin. **

**watch?v=7u90pxYiN_M**

** watch?v=tbN9BzvbedY_  
_**

**. Sumi is a new character, with a very interesting past. You'll have to wait and see what it is, though! ^_^**

* * *

MsWildLuck - thank you so very much. :)

tanakaL - lol, I know what you mean. My cousin has a cat called Tom, I keep hoping that he'll turn into a Fishman! Thank you!

WindWhistle21 - don't worry, dear, you're unique...just like everybody else. XD Nah, I re-read stuff too, when waiting for the updates...

M. A. W. writer - I know, right? It'd be the most terrifyingly epic thing imaginable! Hmm, Zoroi and Sanji, fighting as cats? :P Some things will never change, trust me! Thanks for the review!

Wolf Spirite - finding Zoro and the crew is a top priority, for sure! Eheheh...romance...well, that _is_ one of the categories of this story... ^^ You'll just have to wait and see what happens!

Guest - a-ha, you're an insomniac too, just like me, Law-San and Sabaku No Garaa! Thanks for the review!

Cocoa Liddell - yes, they are cute, aren't they? Possessive/jealous Ace sounds epic but, as before, you'll just have to wait and see! ^_^

* * *

_Thanks to: MsWildLuck, KaiF . Raphaella, Wolf Spirite, SignUpWith, M . A . W . writer, xXxEmeraldBlueXxX and thoughtwasrare for the Alert._

* * *

_Thanks to: WarriorSoul7, Max Wolfwing, KaiF . Raphaella, Wolf Spirite, M . A . W . writer and xXxEmeraldBlueXxX for the Favs._


	8. Everybody Wants To Be A Cat

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT

Everybody Wants To Be A Cat

* * *

The next morning, Emma woke up from an uneventful sleep, to find that it was still dark outside. "Hmm..." She smiled, wriggling around in her bed, and burrowing under the soft sheets. "Ah...wha...?" She realised that she was not alone in the bed...her hand reached out, and touched something...some_body_...a _male_ body, to be exact...luckily, she was _pretty_ sure that it was only his hand, but still...

"AAAAAAAA!"

* * *

None of the men would claim responsibility for it - she hadn't _dared_ to look at who it was, and had disappeared out the back, regaining her composure before coming back inside. There, she found all three men waiting for their breakfasts, and she resisted the urge to make them go without until she got the truth. Instead, she just cooked pancakes and bacon, and fed the Baby Den-Den Mushi.

"Mmm...what are you gonna do with that thing when you're at TAFE?" Ace asked her, through a mouthful of maple-syrup-drowned-pancakes.

"Umm, I'm gonna have to leave it at home." Emma replied, shrugging, and it blinked up at her. "i mean, it freaked my sister out a bit, so I can't take that risk when I'm out at TAFE..."

Ace glanced up at her. "Well then, in that case, we're coming too."

"You're not." She replied immediately.

"Look..." Ace began, and promptly fell asleep.

"Aww, come _on_!" Emma groaned, before turning to Law for help. "Law-San, you guys _can't_ come with me - you'd attract _way_ to much attention! Here, let me show you something." She dragged her laptop out, and called up an episode of Sailor Moon. She made them watch a scene. "The probability of _this_ happening is almost a hundred percent - very high odds, in my book." She added, closing up the laptop. "Do you want to go down that path?"

"Would that _really_ happen?" Luffy wanted to know.

"Luffy," Emma had her head down but, when she put her hands on his shoulders, she looked up at him with a dark Look that made him flinch. "I can _guarantee_ it."

Luffy cringed. "Umm, on second thoughts...I think that I might stay here and, uh...train!" He jumped up and, after remembering that Ranger was in the garage (he was going to spend the day in there, sleeping in Bruce's car, where he felt secure), Luffy ran outside.

Emma gasped. "_No hen-hunting_!" She yelled after him.

"_Aww_! _All the _other_ pirates get to do it_!" Luffy complained.

"NO!" Emma turned back to Ace, who had just woken up, and said: "Somebody has to keep an eye on Luffy so he doesn't commit gallus-cide?"

Ace nodded, and then paused. "Wait, so, who's...?" He glanced sideways at Law, as Emma busied herself with making a coffee.

"Well, I suppose _one_ of you has to come with me," Emma said, her back still to them, so she didn't see the glaring that was going on between the two male pirates. "And, whoever's left behind can keep an eye on Luffy." She turned around, smiling brightly. "So...who's coming with me?"

"_I_ am!" Law and Ace said in perfect unison.

Emma nearly dropped the milk, blinking in surprise. _What the...?_

Law and Ace were glaring at each other, something akin to loathing or, at the _very_ least, a _deep_ hatred sparking in their eyes - Ace's a somewhat fiery rosewood brown, and Law's a cool and stormy grey like silver. Emma was standing in the kitchen, just staring at them glaring at each other, when she noticed something behind them.

A long, rubbery-arm suddenly shot through the sliding doors which the arm's owner had left open, and the hand grabbed Ace by the beads, making him nearly choke on nothing.

"Ace, you have _got_ to see this spider!" Luffy called, from somewhere outside, as his arm retracted, bringing Ace with him. "It's _huuuuge_!"

"Luffy, let me _go_!"

"No way, come and see - it's _eating_ a praying mantis!"

Law and Emma watched this in silence, and then Emma took off her Baby Den-Den Mushi wristwatch. "Well, that was easy. Law-San, shall we go?" She asked brightly, setting the animal down on the bench.

Law was smirking. "Oh yes, let's."

* * *

At the train-station, Emma was soon presented with a problem. How to get Law onto the train without him paying for a ticket. She didn't _really_ want to turn him into a cat again and, apparently, Law wasn't too keen on the idea, either. He told Emma not to worry about it, and assured her that he'd be fine, and that she should just go on ahead, which she did, feeling perplexed.

She tagged on with her Smart-Rider, and rode the escalator down to the platform, where she waited at the very far end so that she'd be sure to get the seat that she wanted. The train arrived, and Law _still_ hadn't shown up - Emma was starting to wonder where he went, and even felt a little bit panicked. _What's_ wrong_ with me?_ She wondered, staring vacantly off into space as she tried to get a grip. _I should be able to manage just _fine_ without them, like I was this time last week. But...then again...when have I_ ever_ been fine?__  
_

She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice when a shadow fell over her, until the owner said: "This seat taken?"

People didn't usually ask, they just sat, so why was...?

Emma looked up, and nearly had a heart-attack - a really tall blonde-haired guy was standing there, a strange look on his face and slight smile - it was that smile that _most_ creeped her out. _Eek! Stalker, stalker, stalker!_ Emma thought, having no idea of how to say no when, just then, somebody appeared next to the guy, just as the doors were closing (accompanied by something that had _always_ reminded Emma of the _Psycho_ theme).

Looking up at the new guy that was now leaning down to look at her, Emma realised that she had never been more relieved to see Trafalgar Law. "Law-San!" She breathed, realising that she probably said his name to sound like 'Larson'.

"Sorry it took me so long." Law smirked, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear as he sat down next to her. He glanced up at the blonde-haired stranger, and calmly said: "Problem?"

The stranger cringed. "Sc-scary!" He muttered, and beat a hasty retreat, all the way down to the other end of the train.

When he was gone, Law lightly tapped Emma on the top of her head with his fist. "There, you see what happens when you space out like that?" He asked her mildly.

"Oh, uh, I was?"

Law nodded. "At least pay attention when you're by yourself, or it'll be your own damn fault when somebody kidnaps you." He lectured her.

"Right. Sorry." Emma nodded, knowing that her ADD was often to blame for her lack of focus. She did her best to stay focused as the train glided along steadily.

Law sighed. "I _said_ when you're by yourself - you can space out as much as you want when you're around me."

"Huh?" Emma glanced at him, blushing.

Law had to backtrack in his mind, slightly. _Wait, did I REALLY just say that to her?_ He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, and noticed that she had taken out a book and started reading. Curious, Law read along with her, until they got to Perth Station. She was really absorbed with her book, but managed to remember that they had to get off here, and so they did.

Walking along, side-by-side, Emma had to realise that people were looking at them. Mainly, the girls looked at Law, and Emma was no idiot - she knew _exactly_ why. Because, well, he was hot, to put it mildly. There was also something confident and sure about the way he carried himself, something that Emma could _never_ hope to achieve.

People often told her to hold her head up when she walked, and throw her shoulders back, but she had a hard time doing this. They also told her to stop dressing down...today she was wearing her short black pleated skirt over stockings and her ankle boots, a black singlet and a black and grey hoodie. The necklace was always around her neck, and now the compass bounced along as she walked.

On the escalator, Law muttered something that she didn't quite catch. "I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked, looking up at him.

"I said they're all looking at you." Law replied.

"What?! Who is?!" Emma was frantic, and nearly tripped getting off the escalator - Law had to grab her arm to steady her, and he didn't let go.

"The men." Law replied, shaking his head. "Come on." And, he kept a hold of her arm as he walked her through the train station.

Her heart was pounding, but she had to clear something up first. "Umm, no Law-San, all those girls were looking at you..."

Law just sighed. "Well then, let's give them something to look at." He said, and pulled her into his chest, hugging her.

Emma's face turned red, and her heart began to pound so hard that she wouldn't have been at all surprised to discover that Law could hear it. She remained frozen to the spot, as he drew back from her, and then whispered in her ear: "Remember, I'm still going to take what you owe me later on." He turned and walked off, raising one hand in farewell, and leaving Emma standing there, feeling shocked, and getting glared at by jealous girls.

* * *

For the next two and a half days, Emma found concentrating _really_ hard. She made a mental list of the possible reasons why:

1. Law came with her to the city on Monday, Ace came on Wednesday, and then there was a huge argument on Thursday which resulted in Emma just grabbing Luffy and taking him with her.

2. She was trying to figure out why Law had hugged her, and what she owed him.

3. Between training with her martial arts class, and the absolutely _horrendous_ training she was forced to do with Grandpa Garp, she was too tired to even _think_._  
_

4. Everyone at TAFE was really concerned about Georgia - it seemed that Georgia's sister had gone missing, just like what you always see on TV but you never imagine that it can happen to you.

5. There were those TAFE assignments...

6. They were going to get Zoro on Friday!

Perhaps that was why Emma's nights had not been plagued with journeys to the other world, because she was so tired. She had also taken to locking the door to her room, to avoid another _incident_.

She was also looking forward to travelling to the other world. Her training with Garp, and a quick call to Marco via the Baby Den-Den Mushi, had led Emma to start experimenting with her powers, though she knew that it would take _years_ for her to fully master these techniques.

The _Ribon-Ribon No Mi_ was known as the Ribbon-Ribbon Fruit. It was a Paramecia-styled Devil Fruit, that allowed the user to use ribbons for a variety of different things - the main one being shields and teleporting. It didn't make any sense to Emma, since ribbons had nothing to do with teleportation but, then again, Nico Robin's Devil Fruit was the _Hana-Hana No Mi_, known as the Flower-Flower Fruit, and it allowed her to create any part of her body as many times as she wanted anywhere in a burst of flower petals. What flowers had to do with body parts, nobody knew, but that was how things were. Flower petals for body parts, and ribbons for teleporting and shields._  
_

With Garp's help, as well as Luffy's, Law's and Ace's, Emma was able to use her power intentionally. She could create the ribbons at will, though she wasn't sure how to use them effectively yet. One thing she _could_ do, however, was something that she did completely by accident, but it turned out to be pretty handy!

Luffy was in his cat-form, and playing by the pool - he was stalking a blue-tongued lizard.

Meanwhile, Garp was watching Emma, Ace and Law play darts. They had invented the game to try and get _lowest_ score possible in twenty turns.

As Ace expertly threw his dart, which landed on the one, right where he'd wanted it to go, Emma complained: "I think you two should have a handicap, like being blindfolded or something." She had just found out that her score was over two hundred.

Ace just laughed. "We should've bet on this - that would've made it more fun!"

Emma just groaned, and set down her darts, before turning to the pool area to check on Luffy. "Luffy, be careful! That may just be a lizard, but they're like snakes - they'll bite you!"

Luffy laughed. "_Shishishishi_! Don't worry Emmy, I'll be fine!"

Ace sighed. "He usually says that right before something bad happens."

"AAA!"

CHOMP!

"See?" Ace dead-panned, as Luffy ran around with the lizard on his nose, and his frantic running took him to the edge of the pool.

"_Ah_!" Emma, Ace and Garp all yelled, as Luffy began to slip.

It all seemed to happen in slow-motion. Luffy was falling and Emma, who was the closest, was running. She felt her powers activate before she even knew what was happening and, in a desperation like no other, she yelled the first thing that came to her mind: "_Ribon-Ribon No Body-Swap!_"_  
_

_Why_ she yelled that, thinking back on it and realising what would happen when she did, she had no idea.

However, the next thing she knew, she had switched places with Luffy (and the lizard) and she herself was now headed for the water. _Luckily_, she managed to send one single red ribbon out from the palm of her left hand, which wrapped around the bars of the pool fence, as she hit the water with a splash.

Emma's first instinct was to swim upwards. After all, she was an Australian girl born in Perth, and had spent her childhood either swimming in the pool at home, or swimming in the waters off the coasts of Cottesloe, Rockingham and Dunsborough. In Bali, she'd practically _lived_ in the massive swimming pools as a child, and had swum every day in the pools there as a teenager and last year as a young adult. Her Mother had taught both her and Sarah to swim at a young age - at the age of _two_, both girls had been able to stay afloat.

So, it was disconcerting and panicking for Emma to discover that she could no longer do it.

No matter what she did, or how she tried to move, she just _couldn't_. She couldn't move her arms or legs at _all_, and her lungs felt like they were about to burst, since she hadn't taken a deep enough breath after yelling out Luffy's name. The only thing connecting her to the surface was that one red ribbon, which was suddenly grabbed and pulled by Garp, freeing Emma from the confines of the suffocating water.

She gasped, landing on the pavement, and fell onto all-fours, coughing and spluttering and just generally breathing, because breathing was _wonderful_, she decided. She had only _just_ realised how _fantastic_ it could really be and, for a few moments, she was a being focused solely on respiration._  
_

Then, she realised that everyone was crowded around her. She looked up, the wet hair falling across her eyes, and met Law's gaze.

He knelt beside her, and pushed the wet hair back from her eyes. "Just take it easy." He commanded her, and she nodded, glancing over her shoulder at the water.

What had once seemed so beautiful and inviting just a week ago, now seemed cold and formidable - her greatest enemy, forged from the one thing she had absolutely _no_ control over, whatsoever.

Emma shivered. "I'm sorry..." She muttered.

Law sighed. "Why do you like apologising so much? Just be more careful next time." He stood up, and murmured something about finding her a towel.

"No need." Ace said suddenly, and grinned at Emma. "Well, if I'm gonna hug somebody, the cuter the better." He said, and reached out, wrapping her into his arms, and using his powers to steam-dry her.

_Show off_. Law thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. _He should put on a shirt, as well - this ain't no nudist colony...shameless exhibitionist..._

While all of this was going on, Luffy was saying: "The _Ribon-Ribon No Body-Swap_? That's so cool!"

"Yeah, I guess so..." Emma said uncertainly, and then she finally smiled. "As long as I don't do it near anymore water..."

"_Shishishish_..."

Emma drew back from Ace once she was dry, and smiled at him. "Thank you, Ace - you might come in handy over winter."

Ace grinned at the prospect, as he stood up and then pulled her to her feet. "I'll remember that." He assured her.

She just laughed, and then walked over to Garp, surprising the Marine with a hug. "And, thank _you_, Grandpa Garp!" She told him._  
_

The Marine was surprised, and then he blushed slightly - he'd always wanted a granddaughter, although he'd never admit that to anybody. He just patted her on the head, and told her: "Just keep practicing with that power of yours, so that you can use it to transport yourselves to the other world."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Huh? You mean...you're not coming with us?"

He shook his head.

She considered this, and then grinned. "Oh, I see then..."

Garp looked down at her, suspiciously. "_What_?" He asked her.

"Oh, nothing..."

Luffy suddenly said: "Oh, I know! This means that we can cause as much trouble as we want in Logue Town, am I right?!"

Ace face-palmed, as a vein appeared on her Grandfather's forehead. "Oh God...RUN!" He grabbed Emma and Luffy and bolted, as Garp chased after them, yelling something unrepeatable.

Law was speechless. _The entire family is insane._ He decided, not wanting Emma to get dragged in _too_ deep.

* * *

Friday _finally_ came, much to everyone's anticipation.

Everyone was ready to go early, which was a surprise - well, not _really_...Emma had to transform Ace into a cat and run cold water on him in the sink again, but at least he didn't try to claw her face off this time. She was starting to feel that, maybe, they were getting to be _very_ good friends.

Emma came out of her room, dressed in black jeans, a black singlet underneath a black long-sleeved turtleneck, and her black ankle boots. The necklace and the compass were safely around her neck, and the Baby Den-Den Mushi (that she was _seriously_ considering naming) was around her wrist.

"Okay!" Luffy announced, when he saw her. "All ashore that's going ashore!"

"Now _you_ sound like my Dad." Emma muttered, swallowing slightly as they all walked outside. She was nervous, there was no doubt about it. She had only one day to help Luffy to find Zoro - they had to be back by dinnertime so that she could feed the dog, because she didn't _dare_ try and call her sister again.

Sarah was no longer speaking to her, it seemed. Lee, meanwhile, was _furious_ that Emma had lost her phone. She kept on calling her irresponsible, and a whole bunch of other things, and saying that she didn't want to come home after all.

_Good._ Thought Emma, although she missed both of her parents - a _lot_...

However, she had bigger things to focus on, as she stood out the back with Luffy, Ace and Law.

Emma had practiced transporting herself and other things...she could _do_ it...nine out of ten times.

If this turned out to be that _one_ other time, then...well, she was probably going to end up splinched, and the boys would end up dead.

According to Law.

Emma wordlessly held out her hands, and Ace took one while Law took the other. Luffy took that as his cue to take _their_ hands, and then Emma closed her eyes, and began to concentrate, trying not to get distracted by the fact that she was holding onto both Law's and Ace's hands - that was how she had messed up in the first place.

It also occurred to her that both Luffy and Ace would be the most eager to find Zoro, since he was Luffy's crew-mate (his _first_-mate, she reminded herself) and, since Luffy was Ace's brother, Ace would naturally want to help him find his friends.

But, why was _Law_ going along with all of this?

He didn't have any ties to these two brothers of D...not _really_...

Hmm...D...

_Determination_...Emma was _determined_ to reach Logue Town, all of a sudden...

Ribbons began to snake out from her chest, wrapping around her shoulders (including her injured one) and down her arms, wrapping around the hands of both Ace and Law, and then extending out from her chest to reach Luffy.

_Destination..._That was Logue Town...the birthplace of Gol D. Roger...the final place the Straw Hat Pirates had visited before reaching the Guiding Light that marked the entrance to The Grand Line...

_Deliberation_...move without haste...do not hesitate...just go! Just _do_ it!

"_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

* * *

Destiny dragged Faith by the hand, going at about eight kilometres per. hour and moving at roughly the same speed as a rip-current. Faith kept up with her, and Cupid jogged behind them - mainly because Karma was marching behind him, glaring at him. Fate followed behind at a more leisurely pace, smiling to herself.

They marched straight up to a doorway marked BOSS, and Destiny knocked on it angrily.

"Unless you're bringing me my Boss Coffee, get the Hell out of here!" Boss yelled, throwing the door open.

"I've not got your Boss Coffee, Boss - this is _more_ important than that!" Destiny yelled back, throwing Faith towards him. "_She_ just broke the rules - _again_!"

Boss sighed. "I already _know_ that, Destiny." He pointed to the sign on his door, which at the moment read SSOᗺ. "I know everything but, what I _don't_ know, is _why_ you did it!"

Faith crossed her arms. "I not sorry."

"Me either!" Cupid giggled. It sounded strange for a full-grown-man (albeit, one wearing a toga) to be _giggling_, but that was just him. "This is going to be very fun!"

"Not once Twister gets through with them." Boss replied flatly, causing both Faith and Cupid to gasp.

"Boss...you, you not serious!" Faith exclaimed, her face paling slightly. For the first time since she'd started this chapter, she was showing signs of worry. "Boss, _please_, Emma is so _happy_ with them! She be even _happier_ to fall in love with them!"

"Yes, but _which_ one of _them_ fell in love with _her_?" Boss wanted to know.

Faith glanced at Cupid, who at least had the grace to look sheepish, as he shrugged and replied: "Umm...both of them?"

Boss groaned, as did most of the others, except for Fate.

She just continued to smile, and muttered to herself: "Well...whatever happens, happens..."

* * *

Ace, Luffy and Law landed with a thud on the ground, surprising everybody around them, especially since they were covered in ribbons.

"Augh..." Ace muttered, standing up. "Everybody in one piece?" _Oh God, I can't believe I just said that._

"Yup..." Luffy stood up, and stretched, before adjusting his hat and beginning to pick the ribbons off of him. "We're all here! You, me, Law and..."

They all three of them stopped, and looked around them.

"Umm..." Ace was getting a bad feeling about this. "Where's Emma?" _Oh no, we lost Ems - she's been splinched!_

Ace was _further_ panicked, when Law stooped down, and riffled through the ribbons, before straightening up and holding up two items on chains - Emma's locket, and her compass, too!

"Oh no!" Luffy cried. He looked horrified. "We lost her!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the compass lit up, sending out a tiny pinprick of a beam, pointing due-north.

"Maybe not..." Ace murmured, his eyes travelling in the direction of the beam. "Maybe Emma accidentally transported herself to where Zoro is...after all, she's the only one who saw where he was, so maybe _that_ has something to do with it." He reached out, and took the compass and locket from Law, before the other man could protest. "Come on - with a little bit of luck, this can lead us to the both of them." He set off, followed by Luffy. Ace raised a hand over his shoulder. "Come on, hurry up!" He called to Law, who gritted his teeth, and didn't obey - he decided to explore elsewhere, for the time-being at least.

* * *

Emma awoke groggily, shaking her head and finding herself lying in a tangle of ribbons. She began to struggle, finally managing to break free from the ribbons, to look up at a clear blue sky.

_Okay,_ she thought to herself, standing up and stretching. _Now, to...wait a minute..._ Emma felt her heart-rate begin to increase, as she looked around her. _Why is everything so big...? Wait, why am I standing on all-fours?_ Emma didn't want to look down at herself, but she knew that she had to.

A pair of white paws were what she saw. She lifted them up, noticing the soft pink pads underneath of them, and then heard running water. Leaving the pile of ribbons, which disappeared behind her, she scurried over to the water, stumbling slightly as she was clumsy on all-fours, and dared to look at herself in the water. Her reflection stared back at her, only...it wasn't _her_ reflection...

A very dark brown, almost black, cat with a reddish hue stared back at her. It had white markings on its face and (she turned around) a white tip on its tail...(she looked under her) all four of its paws were white...there was a red ribbon tied around its neck but, more importantly, where its eyes...they were _her_ eyes...

This _was_ her...she had...been turned into a cat...

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

* * *

Zoro wasn't sure what made him go to the docks that day. Maybe he just felt like taking a walk. Or, maybe, it was intuition...no, he definitely only did it for the exercise.

He walked between people, already used to his new surroundings _and_ his new body...well, maybe only his body. Okay, he was lost.

Or, the sword shop had just moved. Either one.

Zoro was _furious_, and also mildly panicking. They had...those people had _taken_ his swords! In his cat form, he'd been virtually _helpless_!

His claws were out as he worked, and people gave the angry-looking cat with the black bandanna around his neck a wide berth. That was good. If _one_ more person said something about his green fur, he was going to claw them, regardless of their age or gender.

Zoro sighed, and jumped up onto a wall. He looked up at the sky, noticing that it was such a nice day...maybe he should have another nap before trying to find the sword shop again. Zoro stretched, and closed his eyes...he then opened one lazily, and took note of a pile of ribbons on the ground, which was odd.

What was even _odder_, however, was that the ribbons _vanished_ as soon as Zoro got a good look at them! He blinked...and, his attention was drawn to another cat, which had walked from the pile of ribbons and over to the water.

Zoro watched as it peered down into the water, and seemed to look at its reflection, but..._normal_ cats didn't _do_ that..._right_?

Zoro watched as the cat, which was a dark chocolate colour colour with white markings, did the same thing he had done a few days ago - looked at its tail, looked at its paws...

What it did next, however, was _not_ something that Zoro had done.

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!"

And, as Zoro watched, she - for, it was _definitely_ a female - tumbled head-first into the water. It wasn't moving water (the bay was very calm today) but, as Zoro watched on from the wall, the cat began to thrash.

"HEL-!" She screamed, thrashing about in a very Luffy-like way.

_Help..._

Zoro jumped up. Somehow, he just _knew_, this cat - if that's what she really _was_ - was a Devil Fruit user, and she was about to start drowning.

Zoro made a split-second decision, and rushed to save her. He sped to the edge of the water and, as she came up again, he leaned out and grabbed the ribbon around her neck, not wanting to bite down on any part of her. Unfortunately, she was struggling too much and, before Zoro knew what was happening, he was in the water as well.

Luckily, he _could_ swim and, resisting the urge to just leave the other cat there, Zoro swam under her, until she was resting on his back.

"Hold onto me." He said gruffly, and felt her sink her teeth into his bandanna, which was better than his neck, he guessed. Pulling himself up onto the docks again, he walked a few steps, before letting the she-cat slide unceremoniously off his back.

She lay there on the ground, coughing and spluttering, her ribbon askew, and then she stood up, and shook herself dry - all over Zoro.

Zoro glared at her, and she flinched. "S-sorry..." She whispered, looking down at her paws. "It's just...hey, wait a minute!" She looked up suddenly. "You're a _green_ cat!"

Zoro growled, and resisted the urge to attack her. The fact that he was having a conversation with her meant that, like him, she was not supposed to be of this body, and her next statement proved it.

"We've been looking _everywhere_ for you!" She exclaimed, her yellow eyes glittering. Her ears twitched. Her tail swished. She looked like she was going to pounce on him at any second.

To avoid this, Zoro narrowed his grey eyes at her, and said: "And who's '_we_'?"

She looked at him, and smiled - it was so strange to see a cat smile but, then again, strange things tended to happen to them. A _lot_. "Luffy."

* * *

Law sauntered along, taking his time and enjoying the sights.

"Hey there, swordsman!" A voice called to him. Law turned, recalling that he had his _nodachi_ with him now. It was amazing how some thing tended to appear with them when they transformed, like at the battle on the beach. It seemed that things appeared only when needed.

Law walked over to the man, who led him inside his sword shop. Ippo-Matsu...he'd heard that name before...

Ippo-Matsu himself was a short man, with black hair in either side of his head, like wings. He had tanned skin and a red nose. He wore a blue shirt and black pants.

"You seem to like swords a lot, so I have a deal for you." Ippo-Matsu said, and motioned to two swords in a display cabinet. "A fair trade - that blade you carry there, for these two fine specimens here." He gestured grandly to the swords.

Law examined the two swords carefully, without even looking like he was. It was time to play this well. "Well, I do like them," Law said, wiping the smugness out of his smirk so as to appear as naive as possible. "But, I don't know much about them." That was one of his more outrageous lies. "Can you tell me about these blades?"

"Well," Ippo-Matsu said, a greedy look coming into his eyes, one which Law recognized only all too well. "This one is Shusui," he gestured to the black sword with the rope tied around the upper part of the sheath. "It is considered legendary in the _Wano_ _Country_."_  
_

"Mmhmm." Law pretended to look interested. _That sounds familiar, though..._

"And, _this_ particular specimen," Ippo-Matsu went on. "Is _Sandai Kitetsu_..."

Law's eyes flashed briefly. The Cursed Blade?

"I suppose its last owner must have come to some _terrible_ fate." Ippo-Matsu confided.

Law nodded. "Who _was_ its former owner?"

Ippo-Matsu motioned him closer, and muttered, conspiritorially: "It belonged to _Roronoa Zoro_."

This piece of information lodged itself firmly into Law's mind, in the time it took him to nod curtly. This was a perfect situation, now...how to play it... "I'll think about it, and let you know." He replied.

"Well, don't think too long, these swords won't stick around forever." Ippo-Matsu replied, as Law turned to go. "I had another sword, gotten from the same, err, _source_, shall we say, but I sold it to a Marine Captain with glasses...a pretty little thing she was, too..."

Suddenly, the door to the back of the shop burst open, and Ippo-Matsu's wife came in. "I heard that, you! Damn these cats!" She shouted, and she was holding two struggling cats by the scruffs of their necks. "I've seen this green one snooping around lately!" She added, throwing both of them down onto the counter.

Law's back was still to them, and he was almost at the door, when he heard one of the cats speak.

"No!"

Law turned around fast, looking not at the big green cat, but at the much smaller ebony and white cat that had spoken. She was wearing a red ribbon around her neck, and the fur on her back was standing straight up. She was glaring at Ippo-Matsu, who was holding Zoro up by the scruff of the neck, but was also staring at the talking cat in shock.

Law was shocked, too - that cat was..._Emma_?!

Law turned around fast, looking not at the big green cat, but at the much smaller ebony and white cat that had spoken. She was wearing a red ribbon around her neck, and the fur on her back was standing straight up. She was glaring at Ippo-Matsu, who was holding Zoro up by the scruff of the neck, but was also staring at the talking cat in shock.

Law was shocked, too - that cat was..._Emma_?!

Law made his decision in an instant. "_Room_." He muttered, creating his blue room quickly, startling everybody else. In an instant, Law was in possession of Emma, the green cat, and the two swords, and he was running from the shop, with the swords under one arm and the green cat in that same hand by the scruff of his neck, and Emma safely tucked under his other arm.

He didn't stop running until he was far enough way that they would be safe. Also, the green cat began struggling, and then he bit Law's hand, much to Law's annoyance, so he dropped the cat, and the swords.

The green cat nearly had a heart attack. His fur was standing on end, and he hissed: "Swords that aren't yours should be treated with more _respect_!"

"Hands too." Law replied coolly, before holding Emma out in front of him. "You are in _big_ trouble, young lady." He told her.

"_Me_?!" She protested. "What did _I_ do?!"

He just raised an eyebrow, and didn't say anything, which annoyed her.

"Anyway, what about _you_?! You lost Luffy and Ace again, _didn't_ you?!"

Zoro's ears pricked up. "Okay, look, Emma, you said that you knew Luffy, so _where_ is he?"

"That's what _I'd_ like to know." Emma moved her paw up, placing it on top of Law's hand, where the bite-mark was. "Law-San, where are they?"

"They followed the compass' light," Law replied, much to Zoro's confusion. What compass? "But, since they didn't find you, then it means that something bad has happened."

Emma looked worried. "I need that compass to change Zoro back into a human."

"And you." Law pointed out.

"I don't know if it will work on me, but I can try." Emma replied carefully. "But, what about Zoro's third sword - what happened to _Wado Ichimonji_?" She looked into Law's eyes, knowing that he knew.

Law _nearly_ laughed - there was just something about a stubborn cat-Emma that reminded him of a little child, or a kitten. He returned her gaze. "You'll owe me doubley for this."

She blinked. "Fine. Whatever you want. Just tell me where it is!"

Zoro was listening to this in shock. Why did she care so much, anyway? And, since she said that she knew Luffy, did that mean that he was working with Trafalgar Law? But, for what reason? For now, he just decided to go with it.

Law sighed. "The shop-keeper mentioned something about selling it to a person from the Government." He said, and Zoro flinched. That was _not_ good.

"Did he...say anything else?" Zoro spoke up, and Law glanced down at him. Zoro tried not to cringe. He didn't like being in this vulnerable state around somebody as powerful as Trafalgar Law. Zoro's _only_ consolation was that, for now, Law seemed to be helping them. It was a very _small_ consolation.

Law nodded. "Something about her being a beautiful young woman with glasses..."

Emma and Zoro both gasped. "_TASHIGI_!" They both cried.

Zoro gritted his teeth, and dug his claws into the pavement. _That WITCH! That Kuina-doppleganger! How DARE she buy my sword!_

Emma came to a conclusion. "If Tashigi's here, then, wuite possibly, that Smoker guy is, too. Which means..."

Zoro adjusted his position slightly. "Luffy and Ace are in trouble."

* * *

Tashigi was on Cloud Nine. She was humming to herself. She couldn't help it. She _finally_ had _Wado Ichimonji_, and it was _finally_ away from that pirate, Roronoa Zoro! Tashigi giggled to herself, and hugged the sword to her chest.

Smoker, walking beside her, sighed, and tried to ignore Tashigi's happy humming. She was about to start singing, he just _knew_ it.

However, before she could, something very interesting happened.

Smoker and Tashigi walked into the square, where the execution scaffolding had once been.

At the same time, two people walked out of an alleyway next to them.

"Hmm?" All four of them said, looking at each other.

Then...

"Aaah!" Tashigi cried, nearly dropping _Wado Ichimonji_.

"You!" Luffy sounded surprised. "From before..."

"Straw Hat!" Smoker realised. "And Fire-Fist!" He tensed.

Ace grinned. "Hello again..."

Smoker and Ace activated their Devil Fruit powers at the exact same time.

People began screaming, and started running away.

"What are you two doing back in Logue Town?" Smoker wanted to know, as the smoke from his Devil Fruit powers drifted around him. He spoke around his cigars.

"Oh, just taking a stroll." Ace replied casually, fire dancing around his hands and feet.

"Heh. That's pretty big talk for somebody that was just on death-row last week." Smoker commented.

Ace smirked. "Well, let's just say I've found a new source of power." He turned to Luffy. "Hey, little bro - think you can handle the swordswoman?"

"Uh-huh." Luffy nodded confidently, facing Tashigi, who suddenly looked ready.

"I've been waiting a long time to use this sword, Straw Hat." Tashigi told him, unsheathing _Wado Ichimonji_.

Luffy's eyes followed her movements. "Wait a minute, that sword..." He gasped. "It's white!"

Everyone around him groaned.

Ace sighed. "Yes, Luffy. Just try not to get your blood on it."

Luffy grinned. "Don't worry, I won't."

Tashigi glared at him. "Don't be too sure of that, Straw Hat!" And, she attacked!

* * *

Law ran through the town, with Zoro, his swords, and Emma. He had a pretty good idea of where to go, and so headed in the direction that the commotion seemed to be coming from.

When they got there, somehow, they weren't at _all_ surprised to find the battle.

"That's Luffy!" Zoro realised, twisting out of Law's grip. He landed on all-fours. "Fighting against Smoker!" He added, grimacing.

"Law-San, we have to help them!" Emma exclaimed.

"And, how do you plan to do _that_, given your current state?" He asked her mildly, watching the fight without much concern.

_He's still as cold as ever._ Zoro realised.

Emma looked around. "If only I could...ah! There it is!" She had just spotted her necklace and, more importantly, the _Tomodachi No Konpasu_. Ace had them. "Okay!" She suddenly leapt out of Law's grip and took off running into the square. Law felt a sudden thrill of fear when he saw her disappear into the smoke-screen caused by Smoker's attack.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ace was fighting Smoker, and the two were still as evenly matched as ever.

"Look, I don't know _how_ you managed to escape from Marineford, but that _won't_ happen here!" Smoker told him.

Ace was still smiling. "Strange, but I thought that there were a whole lot _more_ Marines there than just _two_. Unless you've got them hiding in the shadows." He added, just as a red and white cat jumped out of the smoke, landing on his chest by digging its claws in, ever-so-slightly.

Normally, Ace would have reacted on instinct, except that the cat looked up at him with those shining hazel eyes - and he knew that it was Emma.

His mouth fell open in shock, as she bowed her head slightly, and touched the tip of her pink velvet nose to the compass that was around Ace's neck.

At once, a reddish-pink glow burst forth from it, reaching out past the smokescreen.

Ace was confused - until he heard a vaguely familiar voice yelling: "_Yes_! _Finally_!"

Smoker glanced over his shoulder, and then turned back around. "I don't know _what_ that was, but it doesn't concern me!" More smoke began to form, and Ace suddenly felt worried about Emma - she was _not_ safe here! "The fact that you're the Pirate King's son is reason enough for me to want to capture you - you're a danger to this world."

Emma's eyes flashed, and she turned, jumping down so that she was standing on the ground in front of Ace, between him and Smoker. "That's not true!" She cried, her usually soft voice suddenly ringing. It sounded like a _thousand_ bells were on _fire_ - she was _angry_. "You people all talk about Ace as if you know him, but you _don't_! Just because his Father was Gol D. Roger, doesn't mean Ace is anything like him! It doesn't mean he's as bad as you all say he is! I know because...because I..." Her entire little cat-body was quivering now, from both rage and emotions. "_Because I love him_!"

Okay, so, she had _not_ meant to say it like that but, somehow, those words had just come spilling out before she could stop them, and she clamped a paw over her mouth but, by then of course, it was too late. She had just said that she _loved_ Ace...she'd actually said it _out-loud_, and _in front of him_!

Smoker stared down at her for a second, trying to process what the cat had just said to him. _That's no ordinary cat...wait a minute...that ribbon..._ His mind recalled what he had been told, by Marine HQ.

**The Demon Of War is to be apprehended at _all_ costs. She is to be taken _alive_. Her current whereabouts are unknown, but she is powerful. She is _not_ to be underestimated, and her abilities are many - expect _anything_ and _everything_.**

Smoker didn't know _how_ he came to that conclusion - that The Demon Of War had somehow transformed into a cat - but, considering how she had clung to Ace, there was suddenly no doubts about it.

Smoker extended his smoke even _more_, and tendrils of it wrapped around the cat's little white paws.

Ace realized this too late, as Emma was grabbed, and Ace suddenly felt the need to _kill_ the man trying to take her from him! A furious and ferocious flame swelled up from within his heart, and burst forth as his attacks intensified beyond what they had been before.

Emma, meanwhile, struggled for breath. What was happening?! She was wrapped up in..._something_...Smoker, he was...was he trying to _suffocate_ her?!

Emma gasped, and tried to breathe, but felt herself blacking out...slipping into that blissful darkness...

* * *

_"Nanna." A little girl with (then) dark brown hair that reached well below her waist held out the story-book. "Why did the witch try and claw the Prince's eyes out?"_

_Hazel "Peg" Grace took the book from her granddaughter, setting down her knitting as she sat in her favourite rocking-recliner-chair. Her rose-coloured Dachshund, Kelly, slept beside the chair, and a cup of tea sat nearby. The fire was lit, and it was warm and cosy in the small house in Willetton. "Hmm, let's see..." Hazel said, pulling her granddaughter into her lap. "The witch was angry that Rupunzel and the Prince had fallen in love, Little Lamb."_

_The little girl frowned, her hazel eyes curious. "How come?"_

_"Because she didn't want Rupunzel to get her happy ending." Hazel replied calmly._

_"But, why?" Emma was wearing a purple and pink nightie with Esmeralda, from _The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame_, on it. "I think that _everybody_ should fall in love and get a happy-ending!"_

_Hazel smiled. "Well then, let's keep on reading, shall we?" She suggested._

_Emma snuggled down against her Nanna. "Okay!"_

* * *

Emma half woke up, but her head felt so groggy that she couldn't. Where was she, anyway?

Why was she pressed up against some guy's chest...? Oh, wait..._right_. She was a cat, and she'd just professed her love for Portgas D. Ace..._great_...Emma tried to faint again, but then found herself hearing Ace's voice.

"Why?" He was saying. "Why would somebody like _you_ give a damn about somebody like _me_? Why would you even _care_? Hardly anybody else does...all because...I'm _his_ son...you say that it doesn't matter, but how _can_ you say that?"

"A-Ace..." Emma whispered, putting her paws up as best she could and resting her head against his shoulder. "Think about Sabo...think about how...how different _he_ was, to all of _them_...it doesn't matter who you are or what...what others want from you...what matters is...what _you_ want..."

Ace didn't say anything for a moment. Emma was vaguely aware that the battle seemed to have stopped around them. Had Law _finally_ stepped in? What about Luffy and Zoro?

"Emma..." Ace said finally, looking off into the distance, at something that only _he_ could see. "Everyone's fear of me...was only proof that they ever really saw me for what I was...people would look down on me by looking down on _him_, or else they'd expect me to be _just like him_...can you understand what that's like?" He asked her.

"No." She replied, tears leaking into her eyes. "No, I _can't_ understand what that must've been like for you. I _can't_ understand how people could be so cruel. But...but...I _want_ to understand, Ace! I _want_ to try and understand! From now on...I want to be there for you when you're troubled...I don't want you to suffer alone in silence...because, in the end, that last level of Impel Down really _was_ your Hell. Because..." The tears leaked out now, and dripped down her face, landing on Ace's shoulder. "Because isolation and self-darkness is the _truest_ form of torture! I won't let you! I won't _let_ you suffer alone anymore! Whatever your pain...whatever your fears, your insecurities...we can always work them out...together! I want us to be together...to live together, to learn together...to figure out what life's really about! You...me...Luffy, and Law, and Grandpa Garp, and Whitebeard-Sama and Sumi-Chan and Marco..._I just want us all to be together_!" She was sobbing now, her entire little-kitty body shaking with uncontrollable sobbing.

Ace's eyes were wide open in shock, and he was surprised to find unaccustomed tears pooling there, and he was dragged back to a day that he remembered...

* * *

_"Hey, Makino." Ten-year-old Ace addressed the green-haired lady._

_"_Hai_, Ace-Kun?" Makino smiled at him._

_"What's a girlfriend?"_

_If Makino was at all surprised by the question, she didn't show it. Instead, she just sat down on a crate, smiling thoughtfully as she mused. "Well...it's somebody _very_ special to you. Somebody that you have to take care of, and spend time with, and love and cherish. You have to accept her for whom she is."_

_"Is that it?" Ace rolled his eyes._

_Makino shook her head. "No. In turn, she'll feel the same way about you, and she'll always be there for you (hopefully). She will laugh with you and adore you. You'll feel clingy when she's not there, and want to spend every single second of the day with her, because she'll be the person that will _always_ know your heart. She'll know you better than you know yourself."_

_"Really?" Ace was disbelieving, and didn't at _all_ understand Makino's dreamy-looking smile. Probably thinking about a certain red-haired Captain, or...? "That doesn't sound very believable - nobody could _ever_ know the _real_ me..." He mumbled, looking away, but Makino heard him anyway._

_"Oh, trust me, Ace-Kun," Makino's eyes sparkled - they were a beautiful shade of deep, rich brown. "When you meet her, you'll know it..."_

* * *

"I'm such a fool..." Ace murmured, closing his eyes briefly. "I never thought...that I would hear somebody say...those words to me, and yet...here you are...telling me what I need to know before I even _know_ that I need to know it...and then, suddenly, all that fear and uncertainty just faded away..." He sighed. "Why? Why would somebody like you...stay with somebody like me? Why would you cry for me? Why would you wish for this? I really don't...deserve your faith in me. No good will come from sticking with me...and yet, without hesitation...you tell me that I'm important to you...that you _need_ me, but...in a way that's _different_ from Luffy...and, in a way that I _never_ thought I'd have...you tell me that you want to stay with me, and I...I'm so selfish, but...I won't ever let you go..." He promised.

"_Ace_!" Emma cried, nuzzling against his neck. She was still crying.

Ace held onto her. "_Daijoubu_...Emiko..." He said, suddenly fashioning a nickname for her, out of the blue. He had just taken a big risk, and he knew it - he had by-passed most of the steps, and just gone straight for a nickname that would ever get him everything...or, nothing.

Emma purred. "Ace-Chan..."

Ace felt his chest swell with something...what was it?

Suddenly, through the smoke, there came a figure.

He was dressed all in a black - a long black robe - and he held a giant sickle in one, pale-skinned hand.

Ace was up, immediately, holding Emma in one arm and using his other hand to create flames. Every ounce of his being told him that this stranger meant them both _very_ real danger!

The stranger, however, stopped, and held up his other hand. "It ssseemsss that I would be breaking one too many rulesss if I wasss to earassse both of your memoriesss now..."

Ace's heart was pounding. Emma wouldn't even _look_ at the stranger.

"Ssso, I'm jussst going to do one thing, and one thing only..." The stranger hissed.

"And, what is _that_?" Ace demanded to know. He was prepared to fight if he had to but, it seemed, that wouldn't be necessary.

The stranger merely held up his sickle, and brought it down slowly. At once, a soft reddish-pink glow surrounded Emma, and she gasped.

Ace gasped, and glared angrily at the stranger for a second but, just then, Emma's body changed and, without warning, she was human again, and standing by his side, staring at herself in shock. She looked a little bit surprised to be a human again.

Ace glanced up at the stranger, a silent question in his deep brown eyes.

The stranger bowed his head, a little bit. "I am known asss Twissster," he stated, straightening up. "The god of change. Dark timesss await you, children Of Legend...you mussst find the ssseven othersss that can help you to defeat the Dark One..."

Emma dared to glance at him. "Wait! T-Twister, do you..." She swallowed. "Do you know a scary lady with blue eyes?!"

Twister nodded once. "Yesss. The lady in which you ssspeak of isss Faith. Ssshe isss one of the godessssssesss of the Celestial Planes...remember thisss, young onesss..." And, with that, he vanished into a black abyss.

Emma and Ace just stared after him, not sure what to make of all of this.

Then, suddenly, and without any warning, Emma threw her arms around Ace. "Ace-Chan!" She cried, shaking slightly. "What are we going to do? I'm...well, I'm..."

"It's okay to admit that you're afraid." Ace replied calmly, as the smoke began to clear, and it was revealed that Law had, indeed, stepped in to help. Right now, the Surgeon Of Death was currently glaring at Ace. Ace knew that it was childish but, for some odd reason, he just couldn't resist the urge to smirk bug, smugly. "We're going to do this together, Emiko..."

If Looks could kill, then Ace would've been dead on the spot under the glare of one Trafalgar Law...

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Here's the episode of Sailor Moon that Emma showed Law and Luffy a part of. watch?v=VsFezva7JWs**

**. As a cat, Emma looked a bit like one of these kittens, the dark brown and white one, only darker. /oliver-company-1988/#/**

**. Ooh, an intensely DEEP moment between Emma and Ace. Everybody together now: _Awwww_...**

**. Ace and Emma aren't names that are usually broken up, being single-word names. Due to this, Ace, in a matter of about 0.148 nanoseconds, came up with his own unique nickname for Emma, by combining Emmy (which is what Luffy calls Emma) with -Ko, which usually means "little" or "cub". Emma simply calls Ace "Ace-Chan", which is a very cutesy, somewhat childish name, but seems to suit them both just fine! XD**

* * *

Cocoa Liddell - the excitement _never_ ends with this lot! Yes, Law-San can be surprisingly cute when he wants to be, but at the same time he's dark and always scheming! Jealousy is a green-eyed monster, isn't it?! ^^

MsWildLuck - yes, that picture came in handy, now, didn't it? :D Meanwhile, Emma just keeps turning people into cats...oh well. *Shrugs*


	9. Green-Eyed-Monster

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER NINE

Green-Eyed-Monster

* * *

_"If the Pirate King had a child?"_

_"Why, it'd be a Demon Child!"_

_"I'd want to destroy it!"_

_"No good can ever come of him!"_

_"I heard he had a lover!"_

_"I heard she died!"_

_"Maybe she committed suicide?"_

_"It would have been because of _him_."_

_"It was her own fault!"_

_"No, it was his fault!"_

_"I'll bet she _did_ have a child, and giving birth to that _monster_ is what destroyed her!"_

_Shut up! Just shut up! You don't know anything about my family! You don't know them! _I_ don't know them, but, I just know...it's not my fault! It's NOT my fault!_

_Mum shouldn't have had to die...she shouldn't have had to make that sacrifice, just for me...I'll never understand...why she did what she did...I would have rather...that she had been there, alive, for me...I never knew her love, never knew if she even cared...she cared for me as her child, but she didn't know _me_..._

_I never thought...that I would have people in my life...people who would see me for who I _really_ am, and not care who my Father was..._

_Sabo...and Luffy...when I met them, for the _first_ time in my life, I had people who _wanted_ me around...they found out, and they didn't _care_..._

_When I told _Oyaji_, he didn't care either...he just said that we're all children of the sea, and that we shouldn't be held accountable for the sins of our parents..._

_But, I never once, for a _second_, thought that somebody would fall in _love_ with me...especially not someone like _her_...I'm not good for her...she comes from a wholesome family, she knows what it's like to feel at home...if I admit that I love her back, then I'd be taking that away from her..._

_She knows...she knows what could have happened to me...it would have been better...better if I'd died...Luffy would have gotten over it, eventually...he still has his Nakama, and his dreams..._

_And yet, she tells me that she loves me...she tells me that she needs me..._

_If I admit that I love her...if I hold onto her and never let her go...will we end up like my parents?_

_What good can come from loving somebody like me?_

* * *

When Ace woke up, for half a second, he wasn't sure where he was.

Then, he realised that he was lying in the guest bed, and that they were back in Emma's world.

Emma?!

Shot out of bed, aware that he was a human - she must have changed him back to normal while he was sleeping.

Ace raced down the hallway, and into the kitchen.

There, he found Luffy, Zoro and Law. The latter was cooking bacon and eggs at the stove, and the sizzle of bacon made Ace's mouth water. _Mmm, bacon..._

Zoro was reclining on the couch, his hands behind his head. The tan-skinned, green-haired man looked completely at ease, although Ace noticed that he kept his swords close, as if afraid that they would run away. Ace understood. Zoro cherished those swords, they were as much a part of him as his arms and legs were.

And, speaking of arms and legs...

"Umm, why is my brother bound to a chair?" Ace wanted to know, standing in the doorway of the living room/kitchen.

As he watched, Luffy suddenly leaned back, and stretched out his neck, heading for the bacon in the frying pan. Without even looking, Law raised a hand and pushed Luffy's face back.

Ace got it. He asked a different question. "Where is she?"

It was Zoro who answered - Law was busy cooking, and pushing Luffy back...Luffy couldn't speak because of Law's hand. "If you're talking about Emma, then she's outside, training with Luffy's Grandfather."

There was a sudden shout of: "_Hyaaaa_!" From out the back, and then a massive crashing sound. It sounded like some trees were being uprooted out there.

"Hey, Luffy," Zoro addressed his Captain. "Are you sure it's okay to leave Emma out there with your Grandfather?"

Luffy nodded, and retracted his head. "Uh-huh! _Shishishishi_...she may not look it, but she's strong! She's our new Naka..."

"Bacon's ready." Law said suddenly.

"Oh boy!" Luffy eagerly made grabby-grab hands. "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Law sighed. "No." He replied, placing the bacon onto some paper towels to get rid of the oil. "Go and get Emma-San, and _then_ we can eat, Luffy-Ya."

"Yosh!" Luffy volunteered, jumping up and speeding out the back.

Law and Ace watched him go, as Zoro closed his eyes again.

He heard Ace take a few steps forwards, and then the outlaw spoke. "So...that apron..."

"She said I could borrow it." Law replied, explaining as to why he was wearing Emma's 'All Great Chefs Started Out As Students' apron (at least it wasn't a 'Kiss The Cook' apron, or her sister's 'Sexy Chefs Have Messy Kitchens' apron).

"Ah." Ace went over to the sofa chair and sat down, noticing a half-finished tapestry on the arm.

"That needle..." Law began.

"It's the one she used for stitching up my brother?" Ace guessed.

"_Hai_."

"You helped?"

"Mmhmm."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Hmm..."

"...That tapestry is hers."

"Oh, she cross-stitches?"

"Long-stitches."

"Long-stitches. Nice."

"Yeah."

_What the Hell?_ Zoro thought, carefully opening one eye, to see Ace's stormy expression. He didn't have to look at Law to know that the Supernova was wearing the same expression. _What have we gotten ourselves into, Luffy?_ He thought, just as the door opened, and Luffy came back in, followed by his Grandfather, and then by Emma...

"_What the Hell_?!" Ace cried, jumping up, and seeing Emma's face covered in blood. He quickly began calculating the pros and cons of killing his Grandfather.

Emma immediately put her hands up. "Ah! It's-it's okay, really...I actually tripped, and, umm..."

"She face-planted the pavement out there, _shishishi_..." Luffy explained, earning him a glare from Emma.

"We can't _all_ be coordinated, Luffy!" She snapped, holding her hands over her face to avoid dripping any of her blood on the floor.

Law sighed. "Laundry." He ordered her, untying the apron. He grabbed an ice-pack from the freezer. They walked into the laundry, and Law added: "Luffy-ya, _no_ touching the bacon!"

"But, it'll go cold!" Luffy protested.

"I'm on it." Ace sighed, flaring up for two different reasons.

* * *

"So," Emma said, trying not to fiddle with the gauze-bandage on her nose. "Plans for today?"

Everyone exchanged a glance, over their bacon and eggs.

"Relaxing?" Ace suggested.

Luffy nodded. "Yeah - we can take Zoro out exploring tomorrow." He suggested, reaching for another rasher of bacon, and fighting Ace for it with a fork. While they were busy, Garp grabbed it.

"Who says I _want_ to explore any of this world?" Zoro rolled his eyes. "So far, all I've heard is that there's a comic book series about our adventures, and that makes the fan-girls go crazy."

Emma looked across at him. "Is that _really_ all they told you?" She asked him, and he nodded. She sighed. "Hoo-boy...looks like you're all going to have to get 'edumacated' today." She made quotation marks. "Boys," she added, standing up dramatically. "We are going, to the LIBRARY!"

"Aww..." Luffy, Ace and Garp all groaned.

"And by that I mean staying at home, watching TV, and then we'll have a BBQ tonight if you behave." Emma explained. She'd had no intentions of going to the library, she just wanted to see their reactions.

"_NOW_ you're talking, Emmy!" Luffy cheered.

* * *

Zoro stared at the TV screen, not sure what to make of all this. Emma had just spent the last half hour explaining stuff that made absolutely no sense to either of them - how the _Hell_ did airplanes manage to stay up, and how did a TV screen work without a Visual Den-Den Mushi?

Now, she was sitting nearby, legs crossed, and totally focused on her tapestry-thing. A cup of coffee rested on the black fireplace nearby, and she was humming quietly, counting the number of rows in her mind. _Two down, one window pane...two down, two window panes..._

She jumped when Zoro addressed her. "Hey, Emma," she glanced up at him; he wans't looking at her, and his eyes appeared to be on the screen, so she was surprised when what he said next had absolutely _nothing_ to do with _The Love Boat_. "So, what's the deal with all of this? Why are you helping us?"

"Does it matter why?" Emma murmured, concentrating on her windows. "I'm just a nice person doing nice things."

"Hn." Zoro replied. He looked out the window, to where Ranger was snoozing on his bed. The others were inside, waiting for twelve o'clock, when Emma would bring Ranger in and let them out. _This world is really strange..._ He was still mildly suspicious of their host but, if Luffy said that she was okay, then Zoro would accept that, as well.

"I'm glad you got your swords back." Emma said unexpectedly. "Tashigi didn't look like she wanted to surrender _Wado_ Ichimonji to you..."

"She didn't." Zoro confirmed, his eyes drifting to the white-sheathed sword. _I can't let anything happen to you,_ he thought to the sword. _Or else she'll never forgive me._

Emma didn't say anything, and Zoro didn't ask, but she knew that _he_ knew that _she_ knew about his past, and about his promise to Kuina. Emma respectfully chose not to say anything about that, for which Zoro found himself feeling grateful.

They lapsed into a mutual silence, as the ending theme song on TV played.

This silence was then broken by the sound of the piano.

Emma was up in an instant, and ran into the dining room. "Careful!" She exclaimed, resisting the urge to grab Luffy's hands away from the keys.

"Emmy, do you actually know how to _play_ this thing?" Luffy asked her and, when she nodded, he jumped up, and made her sit down on the piano stool. "Play something!" He urged her.

"Luffy..."

"_Pleeeaaase_?"

Emma sighed, and turned to the piano. Her hands found the keys, and she began to play by ear. She also began to sing.

Luffy, sitting on a nearby black leather sofa chair, was enthralled.

Zoro, sitting in the living room still, was surprised, but then figured that someone like her _would_ have taken piano lessons or, at the very least, have a lot of free time on her hands.

Law, in the games room, was staring at the pages of a book of Australian First-Aid, without really reading the words.

And Ace, all the way down the other end of the house, woke up at the sound of the song, and listened.

"_In boulder's shadow near falling rain  
__Always blossoming small  
__The flower is probably sad is it not  
__In the rain's midst even colour finishes  
__Of lightly peach-coloured petals  
__Without a hand to love them,_

_To what compares the heart? _  
_This heart that is like a flower _  
_To what compares the heart? _  
_Of sadness struck by rain,_

_On a rustic road shadows disappear _  
_With me together you walk _  
_You are probably lonely too are you not _  
_Of grassy plains where insects cry _  
_I go the road with you human though I am _  
_You that disappears without a word,_

_To what compares the heart? _  
_This heart that goes the road alone _  
_To what compares the heart? _  
_Of the loneliness of being all alone_..."

She finished, and sighed, placing her hands on her laps as the last notes died.

Luffy was staring at her, and then he said: "_Sugoi_, _demo_...that song...doesn't make any sense."

Emma had to laugh. "It doesn't have to."

* * *

Later, Emma announced that she needed to go and buy some stuff for their BBQ.

"Ooh, I'll go with you!" Luffy volunteered, raising his hand. "Meat! Yeah!"

"I'll go, too." Law and Ace said in unison.

Emma nearly face-palmed, but refrained from doing so. She had started to suspect that Law and Ace weren't exactly going to be the very best of friends, but she wasn't sure why. "Umm...how shall I put this?" She pointed to Ace. "I need his help."

As Law's eyes darkened, Ace grinned. "Sure - what for, Emiko?"

_Emiko_? Luffy, Law and Zoro thought.

"Oh, this and that, and...that and this." Emma shrugged, not wanting to say that she didn't think she could handle Luffy alone, and that Ace wa sthe only one that Luffy would listen to. "Put on your shirt, Ace-Chan." She added, referring to the shirt of her Dad's that she had leant to Ace.

_Ace-Chan?!_ Luffy, Law and Zoro thought.

"I'll bring the car around." Emma added, and went to get her keys.

Ace pretended not to notice the dark aura that was radiating from Law, but Zoro was also quick to catch on.

_This...could be a problem..._ The swordsman was starting to regret coming to this world.

* * *

That evening, Emma managed to fire up the BBQ (or, the 'barbie', as she called it), after a quick call to her parents and after assuring Ace that they did not need to use him as the BBQ. She was a bit tired and a bit broke - they'd bought more pounds of meat then she had ever thought possible to fit into her car (it was like a clown car, in the end - Buggy would've been proud), some drinks, and Ace had managed to convince her to give luck a try and buy a Lotto ticket for next Saturday's Powerball.

Everyone pitched in to help (well, Luffy was mostly underfoot, but that was to be expected). Zoro got the plates and cutlery, and got out the beer - Emma had decided to be nice, and bought a few cartons of the stuff. She'd also bought some wine (Dan Murphy's had been having a massive sale), which Law poured a glass of for himself, as he expertly made the salad and watched the evening news - he found it highly entertaining to watch how many car accidents and murders there were in Perth lately.

Meanwhile, outside, Emma and Ace stood side-by-side at the BBQ, as the meat sizzled away and Luffy was practically drooling on the pavement.

"...I then coated myself in red paint, put on a pair of horns and a pointy tail and, carrying my pitchfork, I marched into the village and declared myself their god, saying that I'd burn down all their crops if they didn't build me a statue."

Emma tried not to laugh, and failed miserably. "Ace-Chan, that's _mean_!" She exclaimed.

Ace grinned. "Oh, come on, I'm not _that_ bad." He replied, turning a piece of steak, which sizzled in quite a satisfying way.

"Ah, yeah, Ace, you _are_." Luffy commented. "Remember when we were little? You told me that a big three-headed dog would come in at night and eat my hat if I didn't give you my desserts when we had ice-cream!"

"That was _your_ fault for believing that, Luffy!" Ace laughed. He slapped at his little brother's hand. "And stop trying to eat the chicken before it's cooked!" He scolded lightly.

Emma stood back, smiling at their antics. The entire scene was bathed in the orangey-red light of sunset - it felt warm and inviting. There was a certain feeling that she was getting - what was it?

Suddenly, she sensed a presence, and looked over, to see that Law had come out. "Salad's ready." He said calmly. He was holding a second glass of Cabernet-Sauvignon, which he handed to her. "Don't say no." He added.

"I wasn't planning on it." She smiled. "You know, I think I hit the over-draft of my bank account - I now owe the bank money."

"Will your parents mind?" Law asked her.

Emma shrugged. "What're they going to say? If they ask why I withdrew that cash, I'll just make something up." She took a sip of wine.

"You _know_ how I feel about liars." Law reminded her.

"So? What're _you_ going to do about it?" Emma glanced at him, and was suddenly startled by how close he was standing to her._  
_

"You'll find out." Law smirked, making Emma blush.

Ace happened to turn around then, and saw what was happening - a very red-faced Emma, standing next to Law who was about two seconds away from doing...something. The close proximity of his body to Emma's was a dead giveaway.

Before Ace could react, however, Garp appeared from practically nowhere, right behind the two wine-holders, and clapped them both on their backs, nearly making them spill their drinks all over.

"I'm here!" Garp yelled, grinning.

"Who invited him?" Luffy wanted to know, as Emma and Law exchanged a glance, wiping the red wine off their hands.

"No one." Ace was smiling, but it was tense. "He invited himself."

"Grandpa Garp," Emma turned around, and smiled up at him. "Won't you, uh...join us for dinner?"

Garp laughed. "Don't mind if I do!" He threw himself into a nearby chair. "You kids can all serve _me_, for once!" He added, and Emma joined in with his laughter, mostly at the shocked look that crossed Law's face at the thought of serving the Marine Vice-Admiral dinner.

* * *

A fews hours later, and Emma was smiling in a way that she hadn't in a _long_, _long_ time. Here she was, sitting with a bunch of people that she'd never thought even _existed_, BBQ'ing and drinking and just generally having a good time. There was a strange feeling of connection in the air, which felt odd but comforting at the same time.

What was most surprising was how well Law just seemed to fit in, although the surgeon hardly ever spoke unless spoken to. The only problem was the slight tension that was there between him and Ace. It was so thick at times that you could've used it as a wrecking-ball, although it was easy enough to ignore.

Emma was sitting in between them, with her feet up on the outdoors coffee table - it was a mark of how comfortable she had become with them all, even Zoro, whom she'd only just met.

That, or she was starting to get tipsy.

Garp had started out by telling them all stories about the old day, and then he switched to stories of Ace and Luffy's childhood.

"And then," Garp said. "One time, young Luffy decided that he was going to boycott clothes, and managed to convince Ace here to go along with him! The screaming at such indecent exposure could be heard all the way over on the next island!"

Emma grinned, albeit a very sleepy one - she always got tired when she'd been drinking. "How many times did they do that, Grandpa Garp?"

"Just once." Garp replied, smiling a bit evilly now. "I have a photo, though." He reached into the pocket of his shirt, and pulled out a mini photo-album.

"_Don't you DARE_!" Luffy and Ace shouted in unison, standing up.

Garp stared at them for a second, before they leapt at him, and he dodged and then took off running. "You brats will _never_ catch me!" He shouted, taking off down the back somewhere, with Luffy and Ace right behind him.

Zoro and Law watched them go, before Zoro took another swig of beer, and Law turned back to Emma, only to discover that she had fallen asleep...with her head resting against his shoulder.

Law glanced up, and met Zoro's gaze. There was a look in the swordsman's eyes that the surgeon didn't like - it was openly judgemental, and suspicious.

"I'm going to take her up to her room - she's exhausted." Law said flatly, carefully but skilfully picking up the sleeping girl without waking her up. He carried her bridal-style, back inside and all the way up to her room, where he laid her gently onto her bed.

Law then took a moment to analyse her sleeping form.

"What is it about you?" The dark doctor murmured, hands on his hips. "You..." He trailed off, and just continued to stare at her, before he leaned down, and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Her skin was soft - she must've gotten some good genes. He ran a finger gently across the gauze-bandage on her nose, and then trailed it down to her lips. They were as soft as the roses she kept in a vase on her bedside table - and, like those roses, she had her thorns. "Small, dark one..." Law decided, leaning down further, until his face was right above hers. "I don't intend to let you get away..." He murmured, about to close the distance between them.

"**Get**. **Away**. **From**. **Her**."

The voice came from behind Law but, somehow, he didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. There, standing in the doorway of the room, was Portgas D. Ace. He looked positively murderous. There was no fire around him - all of it was concentrated into his gaze, which was trained on Law, who straightened up, but kept one hand resting at the side of Emma's head.

"Problem?" The surgeon had a smirk at his lips, but his eyes were as cold as Ace's were fiery.

"Get away from her." Ace repeated, taking a step forward. "She's..." He stopped.

"She's what?" Law pressed, his smirk growing. "_Yours_?" He chuckled without humour.

Ace gritted his teeth, knowing that Law was baiting him. He had not expected this confrontation, let alone with one of his brother's allies.

Still, ally or not, Ace stood his ground, as did Law. Ace hated how Law kept one hand on Emma, like he had some possession over her or something.

Ace had never experienced this before, but...Emma had said that she loved _him_, not Law. Law must've been somewhat aware of this, or else he wouldn't have been acting this way. Ace felt a stronger side of him flare up, a side of his masculinity he wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with just yet. Law was older, though - _he_ would be ready for it, there was no doubt about that.

He would be ready to fight.

With the exception of Luffy, Ace had never had a treasure. Now, however, he thought that he might be _starting_ to understand what people were always saying about love..._maybe_...

Just as Ace was coming to this conclusion, and _just_ as he was about to tell Law, once again, to get away from the girl that they both seemed to have feelings for, something happened - Emma's necklace began to glow that same, soft red colour as before, on the day that they'd first met her. Her entire body was bathed in the soft light and Law, whose hand was still resting against her face, was too.

Ace blinked, and then, quite suddenly, both Emma and Law were gone - in their place was Emma's compass.

Ace was horrified.

* * *

_"What were they doing in Logue Town?" Sakazuki wanted to know, addressing Kuzan but getting an answer instead from Little Death._

_"They were looking for someone." She said, pouting. The nine-hundred year old child was _not_ in a good mood, since she'd found out that Emma was now traveling between dimensions. She had managed to acquire a Death-like sickle from somewhere - she kept on running her thumb over the blade and not bleeding "Curse Aunty Faith for giving her those necklaces!" She added._

_That caught Sakazuki's attention. "What necklaces?" He asked her, turning to where she was sitting on the window-sill._

_Little Death held up her new scythe, and began to draw a symbol. She drew a second one - they looked exactly like Emma's necklace and compass. She pointed her scythe to the heart with wings. "_That's_ the Traveler's Necklace, also known as Grace's Heart. It's given power to Emma's _Ribon-Ribon No Mi_, and it also allows her to travel here _without_ using her Devil Fruit power."_

_"Like when she's asleep." Kuzan mused, as he reclined in a chair._

_Little Death nodded impatiently. "Yes. I just don't known _why_ that is, Mr. Aokiji. I also don't know _why_ the Traveler's Compass, sometimes called the Friendship Compass, imprinted on _her_!" She crossed her arms, and looked sulky._

_Meanwhile, Borsalino was remembering something. "Isn't there something like that in our worrrld?" He drawled. "Something like the _Tomodachi No Konpasu_...?"_

_Sakazuki stared at him for a moment, his mind ticking. A number of different weapons were at their enemy's disposal, the most interesting of which was that necklace...access to that other world would allow them a greater advantage to destroy their enemies...the two main of which happened to be _in_ that world. Turning back to Little Death, Sakazuki asked her: "You're unable to transport us back to that world? You'll get in trouble?"_

_Little Death looked annoyed, and Sakazuki knew that he'd hit a weak spot. She was a rule-breaker. Luckily, she seemed to have - rightfully - pegged the World Government as the ones to break the rules for in order to help. She seemed to respect their rules. It could be worse - she could be helping the pirates. "Mr. Akainu, I think I know what Emma is searching for in this world." She said, looking unusually serious for a little girl (well, a nine-hundred year old little girl). "She's looking for her Allies."_

_"Allies?" Sakazuki repeated._

_"Uh-huh." Little Death nodded, waving her scythe and merging the two air-drawings together - they formed some sort of a diadem. "Mummy said that when the Twelve Allies are all together, it creates some sort of _really_ powerful force...the force has the power to create worlds...and destroy them..." She looked at the diadem, before making it disappear with another wave of her scythe. "The compass points the way to each Ally..." She added, frowning._

_"And, when the Allies are united, they gain access to some outrageous power?" Kuzan asked lazily, glancing at Little Death, who nodded quickly. "Man...wouldn't like to see _that_ in the hands of those pirates..."_

_"Neither would I." Sakazuki muttered, his fists clenched. "We need to find out who these Allies are before Straw Hat and Fire-Fist do..."_

_"And Emma." Little Death pointed out. "She plays a bigger part in this than those two do, but they are _all_ the bad guys." She added firmly._

_Kuzan leaned forwards slightly, but still didn't sound to into the conversation when he said: "What will you have us do with the Allies when we find them? Impel Down or Marine Head-Quarters?"_

_"Kill them on sight."_

_Emma didn't mean to gasp - she _really_ didn't, but the intensity of Sakazuki's words scared her._

_So, of course, all four in the room turned to the door, to see Emma and Law standing there._

_Law didn't hesitate - he just grabbed Emma's hand and ran with her. They heard the telltale sounds of Sakazuki following them, and knew they had to hurry._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Emma cried, as they dodged Marines and Government personnel alike._

_"Just keep running!" Law ordered her, focusing on the situation at hand. They reached a T-Junction in the corridor, and Law grabbed Emma by the shoulders. "Get out of here, while I hold them off..." He began but, to his surprise, she looked terrified all of a sudden, and threw her arms around his waist (she could do that, since she was a good foot shorter than what he was)._

_"NO, Law-San, if you do that then you'll vanish!" Emma exclaimed. She explained: "This may be real, but I brought you here via my dream. If we leave each other's sight, then you'll disappear just the way it happens in a normal dream!"_

_Law froze. "How do you know that?" He asked her quietly._

_She looked up at him. "Because as soon as you said it, I panicked." She replied, just as she heard a horrible sound - the sound of guns being cocked. She didn't have to look to know that they were surrounded._

_She heard Law curse, and buried her face into his t-shirt, not wanting to see what happened next. Just then, she felt that familiar warm glow, and realised that they were going back, so she held on extra tight to Law, to ensure that he didn't vanish._

_She didn't know what she had just seen, in the back of her mind, but she had a feeling that somebody vanishing in one of her 'dreams' wouldn't end well...she didn't like taking other people with her, she decided, and she wanted to avoid it at all costs!_

* * *

Ace was at his wits end. He'd been standing in the room, staring at the empty bed for five minutes, when Luffy came in.

"I couldn't get the photo..." Luffy muttered. He then noticed the expression on Ace's face. "What's wrong?"

Ace pointed wordlessly to the empty bed. Luffy looked. He didn't get it.

Just then, Zoro wandered in. "Hey, tell Emma that her dog is barking and..." He trailed off, seeing the situation. "O...kay..." He didn't get it, either.

Luckily, just then, came the explanation - a red light appeared next to Emma's bed and, a second later, both she and Law appeared from within the light.

Emma promptly collapsed, shocking everyone except for Law.

As he caught her, Ace glared at him, but all Law said was: "She's just tired - stressed, too." He added, setting Emma gently on the bed. He didn't linger unnecessarily this time - he intended to leave the room straight away after making sure that she was alright.

Unfortunately, fate (or somebody) had _other_ plans. As everyone crowded around to make sure that Emma was alright (well, Zoro sort of lingered in the doorway, not really caring but a bit curious as to what had happened), Law quickly but efficiently checked Emma's vital signs, and Ace watched him to make sure he didn't do anything else. He also went around to the other side of the bed, where Luffy was, and pulled the sheets up over Emma. Luffy tilted his head to one side, and then took off his hat and placed it beside the pillow...just then, Emma's hand twitched, and brushed up against the compass.

At once, the purplish-blue light emitted from the necklace.

"Oh no, not again..." Ace muttered.

"Hey, what the hell _is_ that...?" Zoro asked.

A moment later, all four of them were cats again.

Zoro was at the door, and he was stunned to find himself as a green feline again. Looking up, he saw that Luffy was a black cat, and lying next to his hat. Ace was a slightly bigger black cat, and had transformed at the time that he was leaning over Emma, so he was lying across her chest. And Law, who had been checking Emma's pulse, was now lying as blueish-black cat with darker facial markings, on the bed beside her, and her arm was across him.

"What the Hell _happened_ in her dream-scape?" Ace hissed to Law.

"I'll tell you in the morning." Law replied smugly, snuggling against Emma's arm and enjoying the way Ace was fuming about this. Law wondered if he would have traded places with Ace right then but, for now, he would take what he could get!

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. This is the song that Emma plays on the piano: watch?v=koCGagayNPM**

**. Ace and Law have a Ren and Kishan moment - meanwhile, Emma doesn't seem to really have a clue, just yet...**

* * *

_Wolf Spirite - I don't have anything pre-written, I just tend to type really, REALLY fast. ^^ Yes, Emma and Ace had their cute little moment, I felt the need to (quickly) write something like that. Don't worry - Zoro will face Tashigi again in the future. *Prophecy*_

_AiSoraix3 - it was a pretty dramatic chapter. ^^ Don't worry, Emma's sudden confession took us all by surprise. Thanks for the review!_

_Cocoa Liddell - Ace is ALWAYS amazing, lol. hmm, ARE they together, or will things be as rocky for them as this video here: watch?v=5LsdKNU7R4M ? (I hope not, that looks dangerous!). Thank you, for your support! :D_

_KaiF . Raphaella - thanks for the review, and the continued support!_

_MsWildLuck - she was right, and didn't seem too particularly thrilled about it, either! XD Well, if you wanted jealousy between Ace and Law, then I hope that this chapter didn't disappoint you! ^^_


	10. Cat Thief

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER TEN

Cat Thief

* * *

When Emma woke up the next day, she was surprised to find that she wasn't hung-over. Maybe she hadn't drunk as much as she thought she had.

Smiling about this, Emma shifted about slightly - and froze.

Something was wrong...yes, something was _definitely_ wrong, but...what _was_ it?

And, when she opened her eyes, she found out what it was.

Lying to her right, with one hand on his hat and the other on Emma's shoulder, was Luffy.

To her left, was Law and, for some reason, she had her left arm draped across him - how had that happened?

But, more importantly, was Ace. He was lying on his stomach, right up close to her on the same side as Luffy, and his head was resting on her chest. He was smiling his sleep.

Emma's heart began to hammer in her chest, as she looked up, to see a green-haired swordsman resting with his back against the doorframe. Zoro glanced up at her, and raised an eyebrow.

Her face turned red, and she quickly averted her gaze, searching for her compass. She found it on the floor, and glanced helplessly at Zoro, who rolled his eyes, and got up, going over and picking up the compass, which he handed to her - she touched it, and changed everybody back into cats.

_Thank God._ She thought. She was then able to get up, change them back into humans, and walk quietly out of the room, followed by Zoro.

Once out in the kitchen, she sighed. "That...was weird..."

Zoro didn't answer, and instead headed out the back to do some training.

* * *

After feeding the dog, Emma didn't feel like cooking, but she knew she had to - she was almost completely out of money, and wouldn't get paid until the day after tomorrow. The trouble was...Emma checked the pantry. She checked the fridges (all three of them). She checked the freezers.

She then double-checked them.

Emma blinked. "Uh...oh no..." She felt a growing sense of dread.

At that point, the other three wandered into the kitchen, to find Emma standing in the middle of said kitchen, looking shocked.

"Emmy, what's wrong?" Luffy asked. "Why isn't breakfast ready?"

Ace slapped Luffy upside the head. "_Baka_! She's not our maid!"

Emma sighed, and clasped her hands. "Okay, umm, how to say this...we're out of food."

The three men stared at her for a second, trying to comprehend what she'd just said.

Law got it first, and just sighed, placing a hand to his forehead, and waiting for the storm that was to come.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Ace exchanged a glance.

Luffy said: "Did she just say that..."

"We're out of food?" Ace finished.

Slowly, the two brothers turned to Emma in horror.

"_I'm really sorry_!" She cried, looking upset. "I didn't have enough money to begin with, after board and bills and what-not, and I don't get paid until the day after tomorrow!"

"Can't we just, you know, dine-and-dash?" Luffy suggested.

"_No_!" Emma exclaimed, shaking her head. "Not in this world - they can get your fingerprints and trace it back to you...I think the Malaysian Government still has my fingerprints from when I went there two years ago."

"You broke the law while you were over there?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

"No, it was a standard procedure." Emma sighed. "The problem is now - what are we going to _do_?"

"Easy," Law replied, shrugging. "If we can't steal in this world, then we'll go back to our world and do it."

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed. "We can get some ramen!"

"I _do_ like miso ramen..." Emma mused, but then she shook her head. "No...wait...it's too risky, Law-San, remember?"

He didn't say anything, but Ace did.

"Why, Emiko?" He looked at her. "What happened last night?"

Emma and Law exchanged a glance. Emma sighed. "Luffy, go and get Zoro - he needs to hear this, too."

* * *

"So, if you find your seven other 'Allies', then you can awaken some huge power that the Government will do anything to stop you from having?" Zoro shook his head. "We always get roped into this sort of stuff, don't we Luffy?"

"Sure do! _Shishishishi_..." The two exchanged a grin.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe this sort of thing happens to _you_ two all the time, but _not for me_!" She put her head in her hands. "Being hunted down by an _entire_ World Government?! It's more than I can _handle_!"

"She sounds like Nami, doesn't she?" Luffy pointed out.

"Shut up you!"

"Yup." Zoro chuckled.

Emma just sighed, and got up, walking down the hall to her room without another word. Maybe it was the lack of food and funds, or the certain lack of tea and coffee in the house, as well. _I can't survive like this on my own...Mum and Dad were right, I'd _never_ make it out there..._

She sat down on her bed, and took off her compass (she'd found that she could do that, as long as she had the notion to put it on again - otherwise, it would appear to be stuck to her neck). She touched the shiny surface of the locket, ran her hands over the glass, and tapped on it gently. As she watched, the compass glowed brightly, and the needle spun. An image appeared above it, just like how it had done with Zoro.

Emma gasped, watching as the new cat sat on the windowsill in the sunshine, and then purred, smiling happily. A Log-Pose and a gold bangle sat on the windowsill nearby and, as Emma watched in shock, a woman came over to the cat and began speaking to her. She was tall, and very pretty, and had heart-shaped tattoos on her shoulders and collar-bone. The cat spoke back - it had a mark on its left shoulder, a very distinct pattern and shape...

Emma gasped again, as the image disappeared, and she was left staring at the carpet in shock.

Sakazuki's words played out in her mind: _Kill them on sight._

Emma made her decision, and stood up, walking back into the living room where the others were waiting for her.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm being hunted by the World Government or not." She said firmly, holding the compass in her hand. The others watched her silently. "I made a promise to help you and, if the World Government is hunting down our Allies, then we must find them _before_ they do. And, on that same note, I know where the next one is." She added.

"Where?!" Luffy exclaimed, eager for the next adventure.

Emma still hadn't gotten over the one in Logue Town, but she pushed that out of her mind and smiled brightly. "Cocoyashi Village!"

* * *

Officer Bradley Cates sat at his desk, eyes closed, and considering what was going on.

How was it that four officers could just _vanish_, and under what circumstances? Bradley knew a little bit - he knew that Carmilla had been investigating the recent sighting of a strange ship with a whale-shaped hull, which had currently disappeared off the radars, but was presumably still close to the Australian coast. He knew that, somehow, _she_ had known that the fingerprints she'd gotten were a key to solving this mystery, so Bradley had sent the fingerprints off to by analysed by forensics._  
_

However, there was still the small matter of the tape that she'd left on her desk, which had been given to Bradley to be reviewed by higher-ups.

Bradley had watched the tape with the straw-hat-wearing girl and her talking cats, and was now trying to piece together _where_ he had heard all of this information before.

Deciding to take a chance, he typed into Google: **whale-shaped hull of a ship, straw hat, luffy**.

He pressed the 'search' button.

* * *

"Wow, it's been awhile since we've seen this place." Luffy commented, shielding his eyes from the sun as he gazed out over Nami's homeland. "We should find Nami, and also a place to eat!"

"Actually, Luffy, it might be better if we find _Emma_ first." Zoro commented, picking bits of ribbon off of him, which disappeared before they hit the dusty ground. "She's gone."

Ace looked around. "Don't worry, it happened last time, as well."

"She's probably wandering around somewhere as a cat again." Law added calmly, putting his hands behind his head. _So, this is the island where Luffy took on Arlong, huh? Interesting..._ "She's probably in trouble, that Demon Of War." The doctor added, smiling._  
_

Zoro just stared at him. _Demon Of War? And what's with that smile?_

Luffy nodded. "Okay, we find Emma, _then_ we find Nami - and some food!" He pumped his fist into the air. "Let's go!"

* * *

A man sat in one of the restaurants in Cocoyashi Village, wearing a long white cloak which did _not_ help with his incognito-look, but nobody really seemed to pay any attention to him. If they had just thought to look under the hood of his cloak, however, then they would have realised that he shouldn't be in here.

As it happened, his cover was about to be blown, by an unsuspecting young woman. Well, a cat.

The red and white cat just appeared out of nowhere, covered in ribbons, and quite clearly all-tied-up, as she landed in a bowl of cream-cheese stew.

The little girl with blonde curls that sat next to the man in the cloak shrieked, as the cream-cheese stew went all over her. She was clearly of upper-class, so what she was doing in Cocoyashi Village was anyone's guess. She had bright blue eyes, and was dressed in a very expensive-looking blue dress to match. Currently, the dress also matched her hair.

"Eeyaa!" The girl, who couldn't have been more than eight, jumped back, upsetting her chair. She pointed dramatically at the little red and white cat, who was currently trying, without success, to free herself from the tangles of ribbons. A red ribbon was tied around her own neck. "I want that cat executed!" The little girl wailed, angry tears filling her eyes.

The man sighed. "Of course, Sugar." No, that was not a nickname, it was her _actual_ name.

Sugar pouted, and watched as the cat was picked up by the scruff of its neck. The ribbons fell off of it. "Good. Make sure it gets hanged, Uncle Nezumi." She added, grumpily, examining the necklace and compass that had appeared along with the cat. _Ooh, shiny_... She thought, pocketing them both.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, everybody in the restaurant gasped. The restaurant owner took out a flint-locked blunderbuss, and pointed it at Nezumi. "Get out." He threatened.

Nezumi paled, and grabbed his niece's hand, hurrying out of the restaurant with the cat still struggling in his firm grasp.

* * *

Genzo walked through the town, whistling and not really noticing the stranger in the white cloak dragging the little girl behind him (mainly because she kept saying that her dress was ruined and calling the man her Uncle, so Genzo was not worried) and carrying a cat. The cat caught his interest, though, because it was the second one he'd seen recently.

The first one, of course, had _not_ been a cat - it had been their very own Nami.

Genzo still recalled what had happened the other day...

* * *

_He had been standing in the local convenience store, waiting patiently in line to buy some bread, when a voice nearby had exclaimed that their wallet was missing. A few seconds later, another voice had stated the same thing and, soon, everyone's wallets were missing._

_They didn't have to wonder about it for long, as a tabby cat jumped up onto the counter, carrying a small bag with all their money in it._

_She was a pretty cat, with warm brown eyes the colour of milk-chocolate, and a very human-like expression on her face when she opened her mouth and said: "You guys got complacent without me around, didn't you?"_

_Everyone stared at the talking cat for a moment, before somebody said: "N-Nami?!"_

_The cat grinned in a very Nami-like way, and she said: "Sure am! Don't know how I got this way, but I think I'll be alright now that I'm home!"_

_"Nami!" Everybody cried, and hurried over to her._

* * *

Now, Genzo had just come back from visiting with Nami and her older sister Nojiko. he was happy to see the two girls together again, but curious as to how Nami had ended up as a cat in the first place. Also, how were they going to get her changed back?

He walked into a restaurant to find the owner cleaning up a spill. "What happened?" Genzo asked.

This comment was interrupted by a shout of: "GIMME FOOD!"

A second later, somebody crashed into the restaurant, creating a massive hole in the wall next to the door, and crashed into the back of Genzo, who saw the restaurant owner's eyes widen in horror, and then they crashed into him as well.

They all three of them landed with a thud at the back of the restaurant.

As everyone gasped, and wondered what had happened, somebody with green hair and three swords opened the door and strolled in, ignoring the hole in the wall until he said: "You know Luffy, Nami's going to make you pay for that."

"Nah, she'll be cool with it! _Shishishishi_!" Luffy laughed from where he was tangled on the floor with Genzo and the restaurant owner.

"It's...it's Luffy! And Zoro!" Somebody said, as people began exclaiming.

"They're back!"

"Quick, somebody run and tell the girls!"

"Welcome back, you two!"

"It's good to see you!"

Luffy and Zoro smiled - it was nice to be appreciated _somewhere_ in the world.

* * *

Chabo ran through the forest, not stopping until he reached the small house by the tangerine groves. From what he had heard from everyone, this had been the place of such disaster and heart-ache in the past, but now it was a beautiful and peaceful place once more. More importantly, it was where Nojiko-Nee-San lived.

"Nojiko-Nee-San!" Chabo pounded on the door, which was opened up a moment later by the beautiful blue-haired, teal-eyed Nojiko.

"Chabo, what is it?" She raised an eyebrow. "You're making enough noise to raise the dead." She added, smiling at the thought of how cross Bellemere would get at the ruckus if she was here - even though she herself had been infamous for doing the exact same sort of things.

"I know," Chabo said, breathing heavily from his run through the forest. "But...you'll never believe it! They're...they're here!"

"Who's here?" Said a second voice, and the brown-eyed, orange tabby cat trotted over to them. It was still strange, seeing Nami as a cat, but she seemed to be taking it in her stride. The colour suited her, too. She wore her bracelet around her neck like a collar.

"It's them!" Chabo grinned. "Luffy and Zoro! They're at the restaurant!"

Nami's eyes widened. "Luffy! Zoro!" She cried, and dashed out of the house, her body nothing more than an orange blur as she ran. She'd been worried about them since they'd been split up at Sabaody. She'd heard about what had happened at the Marineford War...in short, _nobody_ knew what had happened to Luffy and Ace...Nami suspected that the Government was keeping things in wraps, and she was determined to find out _just_ what it was!

* * *

"Meat, meat, M-E-A-T!" Luffy cheered, as he finished his ninth pork chop. Ace was just finishing a fifth helping of fried chicken.

Law and Zoro were a little more controlled with their eating - they were only on their third helping of white rice.

Just then, the doors to the restaurant burst open, and everybody looked up in shock, but there was nobody there.

Then, they looked down, and saw the tabby cat standing there, breathing heavily.

"Luffy!" She cried, her brown eyes trained on him and Zoro. "Zoro!" She leapt towards them...and began scratching at their faces. "W_hat the Hell did you do to the restaurant?! And what took you so long?!_" She screamed, accentuating each syllable with a swipe of her claws.

Everyone else laughed about this (except for Ace, who'd fallen asleep, and Law, because that wasn't like him), as Nami finished scolding her two crew-mates, and then hugged them as best she could in her cat-form.

Luffy and Zoro, now with scratch marks on their faces like when Meowth scratched Jessie and James in Pokemon, then sat down with Nami to swap stories, and catch up on what had happened since they'd parted ways.

Meanwhile, Genzo was talking to the restaurant owner, as he helped him to assess the damage made by Luffy's entrance (they were a bit annoyed, but seeing as how happy Nami was to see her crew-mates, they supposed that they could let it go, just this _one time_).

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot to tell you," the restaurant owner remembered. "Just before you came in, we had a visit from that low-life, Nezumi."

Genzo tensed, his eyes flashing angrily. He would _never_ forgive that Marine that had hurt Nami and Nojiko so badly. "What did he want?"

The restaurant owner shrugged. "No idea - he was here with his niece, though, so I suppose he was just stopping by the eat. he was wearing a white cloak."

"Ah, yes, I saw him." Genzo nodded. "What happened?"

"Well, everything was going smoothly, I suppose. But then that cat appeared, and..."

"Wait, what cat?" Law had suddenly appeared by their sides, seeming interested all of a sudden.

"Well, a cat appeared in a bundle of ribbons," a waitress supplied, blushing a little bit due to Law's attractive features. "And landed in the cream-cheese stew, splattering Nezumi's niece. She was angry with the cat, and so they left with it."

Law's cool grey eyes darkened. "I see." He said, in a voice that alerted everyone in the vicinity to the fact that the Supernova was angry. He marched over to Ace, and woke him up with a quick knock to the head. "Oi, Fire-Fist-ya - what does Emma-San look like as a cat?"

Ace glared at him for waking him up like that (at least he didn't pour water on him!) and was about to reply, when Zoro beat him to it.

"She's dark red, with white markings on her paws, tail and face." Zoro remembered. "She was wearing a red ribbon around her neck that time..." He added.

The waitress nodded. "Yeah, that's the cat we saw...the one...they're going to...execute." She finished meekly.

Zoro, Ace, Law and Luffy stared at her in horror.

"Oh, and the little girl also took with her a strange compass and a necklace." The waitress added.

Nami gasped. "Wait! Luffy! Zoro! Isn't that the compass that will help turn me back into a human?!" She jumped up onto Zoro's chest, digging her claws into his shirt as she tried to get her point across. "And, isn't this Emma the only one that can use it?! _We have to find her_!" She wailed.

"Nami, calm down, we will!" Luffy promised, standing up. He adjusted his hat. He looked annoyed. "Emma's our Nakama now." He added purposefully, and everybody in the restaurant suddenly understood. They'd seen what Luffy had done when Nami was the one in danger - to this kid, Nakama meant _everything_.

Zoro turned to Genzo. "Any idea where those two might have taken her?" He asked.

Genzo looked thoughtful. "It's possible that they're docked around the other side of the island, where Arlong Park used to be." He spoke the name of the place like it was a curse and, for nearly everyone that lived in the Conomi Islands, it was. "There's no way they would have docked near the village." He added.

Ace stood up suddenly, a dark look in his eyes. "We are going there." He announced, a threat in his voice, as if daring anyone to try and stop him.

Genzo nodded. "We will show you the way."

* * *

"Poor little kitty, you're going to die, but you ruined my dress, and you made me cry."

Emma wanted to put her paws over her ears to drawn out the off-key and morbid song, but she couldn't, because she was chained up. She was also locked inside a cage, so why she needed to be chained up, she knew not. It was a tad excessive, as was the fact that the cage was suspended over a pit of some sort of liquid which she _severely_ hoped wasn't water or acid.

"Now, now, Sugar, don't torment the prisoner." Nezumi had shed his cloak, and now wore his standard Marine uniform. He stood by his niece's side, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come now, it's time for your nap." He added, and led her from the room.

She went with him, swinging the compass and Emma's necklace from her hand.

Emma's heart sank - she should've just used the _Ribon-Ribon No Body-Swap_ with Nezumi, and then _he_ would've been the one in the cage (somehow). Curse her and her unwillingness to kill!

She suddenly gave a short gasp, as the cage jolted, and then moved down a bit, towards the pit of death. Emma began shaking, and her chains clanked together. She realised then why she couldn't use her powers - they were sea-stone cuffs! This was _not_ good.

* * *

"There it is." Luffy noticed the ship, and scowled at the Marine's symbol on it, though his heart was racing for another adventure! "Okay, let's go!" he said, but Nami sunk her claws into the hem of his vest.

"_Hold_ it!" She said, through clenched teeth. "If we just rush into that, then they could do something drastic, like kill Emma outright!" Her eyes watered.

_It's so nice of Nami to be worried about Emmy, even though she's never met her!_ Luffy thought, inspired. _Nami's so great!_

"They might even do it before I'm a human again, and then I'll be stuck like this forever!" Nami added.

"And there it is." Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Nami-ya is right, _minna_." Law said unexpectedly. His eyes were trained on the ship. "If we just go in guns-blazing, it could prove to be worse than the current situation. We need someone to go in, get the information, and then get out. After that, we can get in again and slit some throats."

"Coming from you, that sounds almost illegal." Zoro muttered. "Still, it's a good plan." He admitted grudgingly. "We need somebody small, who can get in undetected."

"And that's where _I_ come in." Nami said importantly, nodding. She jumped down from the small ledge that they were all on. She landed on the sand without a sound, and turned back. "Okay, Luffy - we'll do this _without_ anything bad happening."

Luffy nodded, understanding. "Okay, Nami - I trust you."

Nami turned back around, tears running down her face. _Why do I have to be so noble?_ She sobbed on the inside.

* * *

Onboard the ship, Nami crept along, keeping to the shadows and living up to her name as Cat Thief Nami.

Just then, she rounded a corner, and came across the biggest, most lavish door she had _ever_ seen - it was pink, and frilly, and had a golden name-plaque on it that read SUGAR. The door opened suddenly, and Nami pressed herself up against the wall, in the shadows.

"Uncle Nezumi..." a sleepy voice said from within the room, and a man that Nami despised turned around.

"Yes, Sugar?" He asked warily.

"Can you kill that cat now...?" Sugar sounded tired. If Nami had to guess her age, then she would've pegged it at about seven or eight. "Sink it into the water in the brig..." Sugar yawned.

Nami's eyes widened.

"Yes, Sugar." Nezumi sounded just as tired as his niece, if not even more so, as he pulled the door to.

Nami watched him go, her hatred building, and then she crept over to the door and peered in.

The room was lit by the nightlight, and Nami could see that Sugar had everything a little girl could _ever_ desire.

What _mostly_ caught Nami's attention, however, was the two items on Sugar's bedside table - a heart-shaped necklace, and a compass! Nami's eyes widened - that compass was the ticket to her freedom! She wouldn't be able to carry them both by herself, however, and so she quickly turned, and darted from the room. She _had_ to get back to Luffy and the others, and tell them what was happening!

However, she was running across the deck, when a hand grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, and a Marine glared at her. "Another cat?" he growled, as he turned her around to face him. "We don't like cats..."

Nami struggled, but the Marine's grip was too strong. Her heart was racing - this was bad, this was _really_ bad!

There was only one thing to do.

Nami took a deep breath...

* * *

"What do you think's happening?" Luffy whispered. He was itching to get onboard that ship and battle.

Zoro seemed to be anticipating, too. He kept fiddling with his sword, clicking it slightly out of its sheath and then clicking it back in again, and repeating, until Law gave him a Death Look, which he returned.

Ace was staring at the ship, very still, like a dog hunting a rabbit. He wasn't going to take his eyes off the ship and, as soon as he was given the word, then he would go in.

Just then, they all heard a scream, one that was slightly familiar to Ace and Law, and one that was _very_ familiar to Luffy and Zoro.

"LUFFY! ZORO! THEY'RE GOT EMMA IN THE BRIG ABOUT TO SINK INTO WATER, AND THE COMPASS IS IN A ROOM WITH A PINK DOOR MARKED SUGAR!" Nami screamed, just as she was thrown overboard, and landed with a small splash in the water.

Luffy jumped up, his eyes blazing. "Zoro, get Nami! Ace, get that compass! Law, come with me!"

For once, Law didn't mind being ordered around, although he made a mental note to not make a habit out of it, as he grabbed Luffy's arm as Luffy stretched himself back.

"GOMU-GOMU NO...SLING-SHOT!" Luffy shot himself and Law towards the ship, as Ace followed behind them using his fire powers, and Zoro sprinted to the water and dived in to save Nami.

* * *

In the brig, Nezumi heard the commotion overhead. "What on earth are those _baka doing_ up there?" He wondered, just as a man burst into the room, running so fast that he nearly toppled into the water, and would have, except that Nezumi grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Captain!" The Marine gasped. "It's terrible - we're being attacked!"

"By whom?!" Nezumi wanted to know, just as somebody burst through the wall. Nezumi gasped and jumped back, as Luffy and Law straightened up, glaring murderously at him. "Ah! S-S-Straw hat L-L-Luffy!" He pointed at Luffy like he'd seen a ghost. "And...the one standing next to you?"

Law chuckled darkly, a smirk on his face. "_Room_." He muttered. He was going to enjoy this.

* * *

Running through the halls, Ace quickly found Sugar's room. The abundance of pink inside made him want to faint, but he soldiered on and immediately grabbed the necklace and compass.

As he was making his way quickly, he heard the click of a gun, and knew, to his horror, that the little girl was pointing one at him!

"Not so fast!" She threatened him.

"Okaaaay..." Ace slowed down.

The little girl responded by firing a bullet at him, which shouldn't have done anything - except it was made of sea-stone. The bullet grazed into Ace's right shoulder but, luckily, Sugar hadn't been prepared for the recoil, and this gave Ace the chance to make his escape, and head towards the brig. If anyone asked, he'd been shot by a Marine!

Ace reached a T-Junction, just as Nami and Zoro did.

"This way!" The tabby cat cried, racing off down the last hallway, and the two men followed her. Nami used her common-knowledge of ships to lead them straight to the brig. She was also clued in due to the sounds of a fight, which had escalated by the time they arrived.

More Marines had shown up in the brig, and the fight seemed to be going all-out, since Law's _Room_ only covered a certain area, and Luffy was busy taking on the rest of them by himself.

"Ace!" Luffy shouted when he saw his brother. "Hurry! Get the key to Emmy's cage!" He punched a few Marines that tried to attack him.

"Where is it?!" Ace shouted back, suddenly dragged into the fray along with Zoro.

"I don't know, but we have to find it!" Luffy cried, pointing to where Emma's cage was already half-submerged. "That entire cage is made of sea-stone!"

Nezumi laughed at the desperation in Luffy's voice. "Straw Hat, you'll _never_ free her! My niece has the key, and she'll _never_ give it up!"

Nami suddenly turned tail and ran, back up the stairs. She had an idea.

The fight, at that moment, grew more vicious, as Ace burned a hole in the roof without setting fire to the ship, and punching a good number of Marines up to there. Everybody followed, and the fight resumed.

* * *

Nami, meanwhile, had returned to Sugar's room, and went in, but then jumped back when a bullet was fired at her, grazing her right shoulder.

Sugar stood there, in a frilly pink nightie, and holding the gun, which she aimed at Nami. It was, decidedly, the scariest thing that the Navigator had _ever_ seen. "Another cat!" Sugar yelled. "Get out of here!" She was shaking, however.

Nami didn't move.

"Didn't you hear me?!" Sugar shouted. "You're not going to hurt me, not like that other cat!"

Did she mean Emma? Nami wasn't sure, as she took a step forward.

"Don't move!" Sugar had tears in her blue eyes. "I hate cats! I hate them! My Mummy and Daddy were eaten by a leopard two months ago!"

Nami stopped, her eyes growing wide.

"So...so don't come any closer!" Sugar had tears running down her face, now. "I hate cats!"

Nami considered this, her heart pounding. She then laid down, her stomach touching the floor, as she looked up at Sugar, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. "Sugar," Nami said gently, and watched as Sugar gasped and looked shocked that the tabby cat had just spoken. "Sugar, I'm not really a cat - I'm really a human, like you. My name is Nami."

"You...you're lying!" Sugar accused her.

"No, I'm not." Nami replied patiently. "I was turned into a cat by a magic spell and, to undo the spell, I need to set free my friend that you have tied up in the brig. She's the only one who can help me."

"Wh-why should I help you?" Sugar wanted to know, sounding uncertain now.

"Because I know how you feel." Nami told her.

"What would you know?" Sugar snapped.

Nami's eyes were deep, and her voice grew softer. Around them, the sounds from outside seemed to vanish. "Sugar...when I was your age, my Mum was killed by the Arlong Pirates..by Fishmen." Sugar froze, looking at Nami in surprise. "She died to save my life, and I always said I hated all Pirates after that...until I met some of my best friends, who showed me that not all Pirates are the same. It's the same with cats, and with people, and even with Fishmen." She stood up again, and walked closer. This time, Sugar did not try and shoot at her. "Sugar, I know how much it hurts, and how much you want to blame everyone that looks like the ones who killed your parents...but, you can't let those regrets make you hurt other people." She was now standing right beside the little girl, and her voice was gentle. "Sugar...I love my friends, and I don't want them to die...please...help me..."

"I will..." Sugar said, her voice suddenly firm. "If you give me that gold ring around your neck."

What the Hell?

Nami flinched, but made that split-second decision to just go with it. "Fine." She said, slipping the band off of her neck. She hated giving up the bracelet her sister gave her but, if it meant saving Emma and the others, then she would.

Sugar reached into the pocket of her dress, and pulled out a little silver key. "Here. This unlocks the bars and the cuffs." She handed the key to the tabby cat, who took it in her mouth.

Nami bowed her head, and then ran from the room.

* * *

When she got back to the brig, it was nearly unrecognisable - the fight had destroyed most of it, and sea-water was now leaking in.

Nami, knowing that she had only seconds, since the cage was now under water, dove in, and fought against the currents, her eyes stinging. She could still see the cage, however, and made her way towards it, seeing the red and white cat was now unconscious.

Nami wondered how she was going to do this without opposable thumbs.

The answer came to her, however, because even as a cat she found that her paws were rather dextrous, and she quickly worked the locks, ignoring the stinging in her shoulder from where she'd been shot. She was always aware of the seconds ticking by, knowing that with each moment Emma was unconscious, she was taking in sea-water to the lungs.

Finally, Nami was able to get the locks away and free Emma but, by that stage, she was too exhausted to make her own way to the surface, let alone drag another cat with her.

_This is bad..._ Nami thought, starting to black out. _Bellemere-San...I didn't get to...draw my map of the world...I'm so sorry..._

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her, and the other one wrapped around Emma.

With strong kicks, Zoro brought both the cats to the surface, pulling them all up onto the slightly-ruined floor, and then up to the drier part of the ship.

Nami fought to get her breath back, as Emma began coughing up sea-water, and Zoro just waited.

"Don't think...that I'm gonna let you off all the debts you owe me, just because you saved my life...twice today..." Nami told Zoro.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"What took you so long?"

"I got lost."

"Why am I not surprised?" It was Nami's turn to roll her eyes, but she was grateful to the swordsman.

Emma coughed, and then looked up at the both of them. "Z-Zoro?" She questioned, looking a little dazed.

Zoro nodded, and then handed something to her. It was her compass. "You might need this." He told her.

She nodded as well, and touched a paw to the compass.

At once, a warm glow spread throughout Nami's body, and she found herself as a human once more. _Ah, much better!_ She thought, checking to make sure her Clima-Tact was there - it was. She held it in her hands, looking relieved, and then froze.

A stranger in a black cloak stood over them. Nami and Zoro tensed, but Emma, on the other hand (paw), looked relieved to see him, as she stood up again and said: "Twister..."

"Friend of yours?" Zoro's hands were on his swords, ready just in case.

"Sort of..." Emma replied. "He's here to turn me back into a human."

Twister chuckled darkly. "Now, why would I do that, Emma? Don't you like being a cat?"

"I want to help...Luffy and Ace..." Emma replied.

"You couldn't even help yourssself." Twister pointed out.

"I know..." Emma looked to the side. "Excuse me for not coming from a world where learning self-defence is something your parents _encourage_."

Twister reached out a white hand, stopping her. "Enough. I already know your story." He held up his scythe. "I will turn you back into a human, but you need to learn to defend yourssself..." He brought the scythe down, and Emma began to change, as Twister began to disappear. "Only when you are ssstrong enough to defeat the one whom you believe almossst killed you, will your body be able to handle _not_ turning into a cat in thisss world..."

* * *

Up on deck, the battle was almost over when Emma, Nami and Zoro arrived. Emma had her necklace back on, and looked ready for action. But...

"Just stay back, and try not to get hurt!" Nami told Emma briskly, before she and Zoro vanished.

"Yeah, right." Emma muttered, as she was suddenly surrounded by three Marines. She looked over and, seeing that Luffy currently had nothing to do, said: "_Ribon-Ribon No...Body-Swap_!"

Luffy suddenly found his position switched with Emma's, but he didn't mind, as he quickly dealt with the three Marines.

Emma, meanwhile, side-stepped a punch that was aimed at her, before using the push-kick that she'd learned in martial arts class to push him overboard.

Ace was busy fighting a guy who could've been part-giant - he certainly had his hands full, that is until the deck collapsed beneath them, and they both vanished.

A second later, Sugar ran out onto the deck, screaming: "Uncle Nezumi, they just fell into the roomful of gun-powder!"

Everyone froze for a fraction of a second, before everyone began running, and jumping overboard.

Emma, who was reminded of the end of the wedding scene in _Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows_, managed to find Nami, Zoro, Law and Luffy, and grabbed them without any hesitation. "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_!" She cried, just as Ace yelled something from below that sounded suspiciously like: "_Katsu_!"

There was a brief moment of silence, as Emma appeared on the beach with Law, Luffy, Nami and Zoro.

Then, the entire ship exploded into a katrillion pieces, which went flying in every direction.

Everyone scattered, dodging bits of shrapnel and the occasional cannonball.

A second after that, Ace came flying through the air, looking positively _gleeful_, but maybe that was because he aimed himself to land right on top of Emma.

"Did you _see_ that?!" Ace cried, from his position. "That was _epic_!"

Emma was too shocked to say anything, as Ace stood up and then helped her up.

Nezumi did, though. He was floating in the water, looking hateful. Sugar clung to him.

"I won't forget this!" Nezumi threatened. "This is the second time you've done this to me!" He added.

Emma yelled back: "Then maybe you should stop being such an idiot, rat-boy!" And, she chanted: "_Baka busu, baka-baka busu_!"_  
_

Luffy joined in, and Nezumi was seeing red!

Nami, meanwhile, was horrified. "She's...she's just as insane and weird as everyone else is!" She realised, sinking to her knees on the sand.

* * *

Later on, in the restaurant, Emma approached Nami. "Umm, Nami...thank you, thank you very much." She bowed her head.

Nami gave her a Look. "You should be thanking me in riches, Emma. Thanks to _you_, I had to give up my sister's bracelet to that Sugar girl."

Emma gasped. "I'm really sorry!"

Nami sighed. "Forget about it. I'll get over it."

"No, you won't." Said a voice, and everybody looked up to see Sugar standing in the doorway to the restaurant, alone.

Nami looked surprised. "Oh, Sugar...what are you doing here?"

"I just came to give you this back." Sugar said, coming over and handing Nami her bracelet. "I didn't know that your sister gave it to you but, after I thought about it, it seemed really special to you since you had it on as a cat."

_She's like a completely different person now_. Nami thought, as she took her bracelet back. "Thanks." She said, sliding the bracelet onto her wrist, next to her Log-Pose.

Sugar pouted. "I'm going to go and see _my_ big sister, and ask her to give me a bracelet." She declared. "And, it'll be prettier than _yours_ is, Nami." She stuck her tongue out, and then turned and flounced out the door.

Nami and Emma watched her go.

"She's a strange girl." Nami commented.

"Yeah." Emma replied.

The two of them exchanged a glance, and then started laughing.

* * *

Back at home, Emma fed the dog, as the others took Nami on a quick tour of the house.

It was nice to have another girl in the house - Emma had told Nami that she could sleep in Sarah's room, which had a lock on the door, and the tour started from there.

"Bathroom's there, shower's there." Zoro pointed.

"And _this_ is the cabinet where Ace drunk five hundred dollars worth of Emma's parents' expensive alcohol!" Luffy laughed, as Emma gave Ace a dark look, which he pretended not to see.

"Speaking of which, Emma-San," Law said suddenly. "When _are_ your parents getting home?"

Emma frowned, and went over to the calendar, which was also covered in her cousin's writing, after Ashlee had commandeered the calendar to write down important dates, like her birthday and such. "Hmm...what day is it today?"

"Monday." Ace said.

Emma ran her finger along the edge of the calendar. "Ah." She said, stepping back.

"What is it?" Nami wanted to know.

Emma turned to face them and said, very simply: "My parents are coming home tomorrow night."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Yes, when you go to Malaysia, they really do take your fingerprints and put them on file. It was pretty weird...**

**. Is Sugar bi-polar? Yes, yes she is. Who is her sister?**

**. So, Nami comes to the other world, and becomes the next Ally - what will happen next?!**

* * *

_MsWildLuck - a jealous Ace is an awesome Ace. XD It also means I get to write descriptive words, like 'fiery' and 'intense'._

_Cocoa Liddell - well, Emma _does_ owe Law, twice in fact...wonder what he'll do. :) Hmm, okay, I'm _not_ seeing a lot of support for LawxEmma here...hmm..._

_Chieko Namikaze - that makes me so happy to hear that! ^^ Umm, I dunno about _'Straw Cat Pirates'_ yet...I wanna see how this one and my _Hetalia_ fan-fic go, first..._

_KaiF . Raphaella - thank you. ^^_

_Wolf Spirite - poor Zoro...he needs a hug...I'm not gonna try it, though! XD Hmm, another AcexEmma fan...poor Law needs a hug now, too! Once again, I am _not_ volunteering! *Shoves random fan-girl his way* Anyways, thanks for the review!_


	11. Glass Shatters

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Author's Note: There seemed to be some confusion as to whether or not Emma got her heart necklace back. She did. ^^ To avoid any further confusion, please read the following.**

**Heart Necklace/Traveler's Necklace/Grace's Heart - unless so named, this will be referred to as 'the necklace', or 'her necklace' or just simply as 'necklace'**

**Compass/Traveler's Compass/Compass Of Friendship/_Tomodachi No Konpasu_ - this is always going to be called the compass, unless so named.**

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Glass Shatters

* * *

The next morning, Emma got up and began her daily routine. She went out and turned the coffee machine on, fed the dog, got dressed (putting on black jeans and a black singlet under a black and red Holden jumper) and then began making breakfast - they had stocked up on things in Cocoyashi Village.

And, speaking of which...

Nami walked into the kitchen yawning. She was wearing an old nightie of Sarah's, and was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as Emma was putting the sausages on the plate. Nami stopped, and blinked. "Hmm...oh, _wow_!" She hugged a startled Emma around the neck. "You really just cooked _all_ of this by yourself? I know! You should become my wife!"

Emma blanched, trying to think of something to say, when she realised that Nami was kidding, and so they both laughed. As Emma was untying her apron, she said: "It's a good thing that you're up first - hurry up and dig in before I wake up the boys."

Nami nodded. "Don't worry about me, I'm used to it."

Emma smiled, and left the room, going into the games room to wake up Zoro first. He was asleep with his feet up on the arm of the sofa. She shook his shoulder gently and, when he didn't stir, she reached for the swords.

A hand gripped her wrist.

"I'm up." Zoro said darkly.

She smiled. "Good."

Law was next. He was resting on the couch in the activity room.

"_Ohayoo gozaimasu_." Emma greeted him. Then, noticing the dark circles under his eyes, added: "Did you even sleep?"

Law just sighed. "Never mind." He stood up, and stretched. "What about you? You look stressed."

"Do I?" She muttered, fiddling with her necklace. "I guess I'm just worried about what's going to happen when my parents come home."

Law regarded her intently, but didn't say anything, as she went into the spare bedroom to wake up the brothers. He smirked when she came out a few seconds later, carrying two black cats by the scruffs of their necks. Some things never changed.

* * *

"Some things are going to have to change." Emma said, as she put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.

"Like what?" Luffy asked, from behind a glass of orange juice.

"Well, for one thing," Emma placed her hands on the bench, and gazed at them all. "You're going to have to stay hidden - my parents can't know about you."

"Why not?" Luffy wanted to know. "Won't they like us?"

Emma sighed. "It isn't that, Luffy." She replied. "It's just that, as you know, things like this don't happen in this world very often...or, at all!" She shook her head. "The problem I now face is getting you lot fed without my parents finding out about you...I don't think this is going to work..." She admitted. "What to do...what to do...?" Just then, a ringing sound interrupted her thoughts. Well, it wasn't a ringing sound - it was more like a 'ba-du-ba-du-ba-du-ba-du' sound. Emma blinked, and then looked at her wrist, to where the Baby Den-Den Mushi appeared to be ringing. "Oh, umm..." She answered it. "_Moshi-Moshi_?"

"_Emma-Chan_!" Sumi's happy voice came over the line. "_Ohayoooo_!"

"Ah, Sumi-Chan, _ohayoo_!" Emma replied. "What's up?"

"You'll never guess, so I'll just tell you," everyone could hear the smile in Sumi's voice. "It's so great!"

"Who's that?" Zoro whispered to Luffy.

"Umm, a friend of Emmy's...I forget what she looks like, though." Luffy was eating bacon, so he was too preoccupied to remember who Sumi _was_, exactly.

"What's great?" Emma asked.

"We're in Perth!"

Emma was startled. "Huh? What? You mean...all of you?"

"That's right, yoi." A new voice said.

"Hey, Marco-San!" Emma exclaimed, grinning. "You're there, too?"

"Uh-huh."

Ace jumped up, and hurried into the kitchen, standing close to Emma. "Marco, bro! How are things going?"

"Good on our end, Ace." Marco replied. "We've sailed all the way up the coastline to reach Perth - we had to take the long way around due to a naval base, though."

"Garden Island..." Emma muttered. "So, where are you now?"

"We're docked just near a teeny-tiny island called Carnac." Sumi explained.

"Carnac..." Emma repeated. "That's just off the coast of Coogee...that's not too far from here..." She furrowed her brow, and then looked up. "Umm, Sumi-Chan...could you possibly...I mean, can I talk to...umm...?"

"To _Oyaji_?" Sumi guessed. "Sure, he's right here."_  
_

"Emma, it's good to hear from you again. I trust you and Ace are doing well." Said the gruff voice of Edward Newgate, making Emma's heart clench.

She held wrist away from her, like the Baby Den-Den Mushi might bite, and replied: "H-hello, Whitebeard-Sama. Y-yes, we are..."

Nami and Zoro exchanged a glance, suddenly understanding what was going on here.

"You wanted to ask me something?" Whitebeard went on.

Emma nodded, and then remembered that Whitebeard couldn't see her. "Umm, yes...y-you see, my p-parents are coming home tonight, and I-I've just realised that th-the...that Ace and everyone can't stay here..."

"_What_?!" Ace, Luffy, Nami and Zoro cried, and even Law looked a bit surprised, as Emma jumped back.

"What do you mean '_what_'?!" She looked around at them all. "You can't! My parents won't understand or accept what's going on here! Okay, look, you gotta listen to me, just listen. I have _two_ friends in the entire world," she held up two fingers to emphasise her point. "And I've known them since we were five years old. Other than that, there's nobody, no one, you got it? My parents won't get that I've got a whole bunch more now, _especially_ not guys. And, cats that turn into humans because of a magic compass? Forget it. If my parents see you, they're gonna freak out. My Mother's got a temper, not to mention allergies." She face-palmed, realising that she'd just said too much. "Okay, so that's why...that's why you have to stay with Whitebeard-Sama for a little while."

"And who said I'll be willing to take any _more_ brats onboard my ship?" Whitebeard asked suddenly._  
_

"Aww, come on, Whitebeard-Sama, I'm _desperate_!"

"Really? I couldn't tell."

"Fine then." Emma sighed. She picked up a knife from the bench and handed it to Ace, before turning around. "Okay Ace-Chan, go ahead."

"Emiko..."

"Just push it in and start carving." Emma said, making sure that everybody could hear her. "You might as well because, when my parents get home, I am already in a _whole_ lot of trouble, for more reasons than I care to name." She put her hands on the bench again, as if to steady herself. "You've got _no_ idea what my Mum and Dad are like...I _need_ you guys to _not_ be here when they get home, okay?"

Ace put the knife back on the bench, and wrapped his arms around Emma from behind, drawing her towards him, not caring who was watching. "_Oyaji_," he addressed his Father. "You won't mind putting up with me and my brother and a couple of my brother's friends for a few days, will you? Oh, and that other guy." He added, as an afterthought, and Law glared at him.

They all heard Whitebeard sigh, and then he said: "Very well then...on one condition...no, wait, make that two..."

"What?" Emma and Ace asked in unison.

"That you stay in contact with us each day," Whitebeard said, speaking to Emma now. "And visit at least once a week. Or else, we'll send someone in the check on you, and don't think we _won't_." He warned.

"That's gonna be hard to run by my parents, but I'll try." Emma promised.

"What's the other condition, _Oyaji_?" Ace wanted to know.

"That you two brats tell me _why_ you're referring to each other with cutesy nicknames now."

Emma and Ace both froze, and then they blushed.

"Ah, well, you see..." Ace couldn't figure out what to say. "That's because...uh..."

Emma bit her lip, and then an idea came to her. She said: "So-y Whi-d-ma," she made fake static noises to go along with her charade. "Must be l-ing con-tion, see you l-er!" She quickly hung up, and then both she and Ace sighed in relief.

* * *

Onboard the Moby Dick, everyone was staring at Whitebeard staring at the Den-Den Mushi, and then he gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to crush the Den-Den Mushi's receiver in his hand - they wouldn't be able to replace it. "Those little brats..." He muttered, shaking his head. He looked out over the sea. _So, it's happening is it, Grace?_

* * *

"Will your parents mind that you're skipping TAFE today, Emiko?" Ace asked her.

"Probably, but what are they gonna do?" Emma replied, as she turned the car carrying her and the five cats onto Rockingham Road. "I'll just tell them I was sick or something."

"Tell us about your parents, Emma." Nami suggested, from where she was curled up on the front passenger seat.

"Yeah, yeah, what are they like?" Luffy wanted to know. "I mean, aside from your Mum's temper and her allergies..."

Emma considered this, as she continued to drive, and the song _Decadence_ played quietly in the background. "Hmm...what can I say? You saw their pictures on the fridge and in the dining room. My Mum works at a casino, and she was wild in her teens but has settled down now. She doesn't take any nonsense from _anybody_, and she is also pretty strong...she was in a terrible relationship before she met my Dad, so she's not afraid of anyone anymore." That part was completely true, but Emma didn't go into anymore details, and the others didn't ask about it. They just waited, as Emma continued. "She gets along better with my sister, probably because _Nee-San_ is more into make-up and fashion and all that sort of thing, but I don't know." She shrugged.

"What about your Dad?" Luffy asked. "What's he like?"

"Dad?" Emma brightened slightly. "Dad's cool, he's really calm most of the time, and really smart, too. He used to work in a bank. When I was little, he and I would read all sorts of books, which is one reason I love reading so much. Usually it would be books about snakes and sharks, which I guess is _why_ I have a fascination with dangerous animals." She laughed a little bit. "He likes the same band that I do - the one that's playing now - and we used to watch anime when I was younger...but now..." She trailed off.

"But now...?" Ace pressed.

Emma's eyes were focused on the road. "But now...I dunno, I guess we just had a falling out...at that point..." She muttered, her fingers tightening on the wheel. "I'm not the person he expected me to be..." She added, stopping at the lights. "Oh well, no big deal. Come on, let's go and get some fish and chips before we find the ship - I got paid yesterday." She added, and Luffy cheered.

"Alright! Fish meat!"

* * *

Sarah Pax rolled her eyes, as she sat at the Coogee Cafe with a client. It was _supposed_ to be a casual meeting, but it was turning into Frustration, like the level in _Yoshi's Story_, for Sarah and the client both. "Okay, so let me get this straight - _none_ of the power lines are working on Mounts Bay Road?"

"No, no, that's not what I said." The client shook his head.

"Well, what _did_ you say?!" Sarah groaned.

"Okay, it is like this..." The man began to explain, and Sarah resisted the urge to face-palm.

_Why won't he shut up? _Sarah wondered._ He's like the thing that wouldn't shut up_... She sighed, and leaned back in her chair, before glancing up at a group that had just entered the cafe. _Hmm...tall, dark and handsome guy...tall, scruffy and lanky guy with a straw hat...girl with an hourglass figure and weird orange hair...tall and tanned guy with GREEN hair...shirtless guy with an ugly cowboy hat on...my sister wearing my jumper...this is a really strange crowd...wait a minute, what the..._?!

Sarah stood up quickly.

"Is there a problem?" The client asked her.

"Umm...I don't think so..." Sarah mumbled, sitting down again, as she continued to stare at her sister, who was pointing at the menu board, and talking to the five strangers. _Who are all these people, and how do they know my sister?_ She watched, as Emma stepped up to the counter to order, and the shirtless guy and the tall, dark and handsome guy stayed with her, as the other three went off to find a table.

Sarah's eyes narrowed, wondering if one of those guys was Coby. They didn't _look_ like a 'Coby'...however, they were _glaring_ at each other, and Emma seemed oblivious to it, as she paid for the order by debit card, and then turned to find where the others had gone. Sarah quickly picked up a menu and hid behind it, so that her sister would not see her. She wanted to stay undercover for just a little bit longer, until she could figure out what her little sister was doing.

* * *

"Okay," the waitresses carried the plates out to the outdoor picnic area, where Nami had managed to persuade the men there to give up their spot so that she could snag the table for her friends. "Here we go..." She began listing their orders as the plates were placed on the table, starting with the fish of the day (Luffy's) and ending with a chai latte (Emma's). "Enjoy." She added, and left, as everyone dug in and began to eat.

The food was good, and everyone was enjoying themselves, even Law, although he seemed a tiny bit uncomfortable with how lighthearted everyone was. That seemed normal, though, since he was slightly out of his comfort-zone _anyway_, due to being a slight outsider._  
_

After eating, they walked down to the beach, taking off their shoes as they walked along the sand.

"_Sun down, all around, walking through the summer sand_..." Emma sung softly, as she rolled up the legs of her jeans, and walked through the wet sand, as the waves crashed around her ankles. _I can't believe that I'll never swim again but, then again, I have a cool new power..._ She considered this, Nami came up beside her.

"_Ne_, Emma," Nami pointed out to sea. "Is that Whitebeard's ship?"

Emma looked, shielding her eyes, and sighed. "I can't see it from here, hold on a minute..." She took her glasses out of her bad, and put them on, still squinting, though. "Umm...yes! Yes, it is!" She turned around. "Hey, Ace-Chan! I found the Moby Dick!" She called to him.

Ace came over, and squinted into the horizon. "Hey, so it is! Excellent!"

"What do you mean _you_ found it?" Nami rolled her eyes, just as Zoro joined them.

"Hey," the swordsman said quietly, and tensely. "There's been a person following us for the last ten or so minutes. She was at the cafe, too." He added.

Emma tensed, as well, and looked around, finally spotting the woman standing on the sand about two yards away from them. She had long black hair with light streaks, and was dressed in a floral-print dress and heels that kept on sinking into the sand as she walked towards them. She then took off her sunglasses.

"Shite." Emma muttered, her blood running cold. "It's _Nee-San_!"

Nami and the others cringed, as Emma walked towards her sister. The two met in the middle.

"_Nee-San_, _what_ are you doing here?!" Emma cried.

"I could ask you the same thing." Sarah said. She raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have TAFE today? And, who _are_ all these people?"_  
_

"Umm...they're just some...friends of mine..." Emma muttered, avoiding the first question.

Sarah looked past her. "I see...where's Coby?"

Emma groaned. "He's not here, so don't ask...why are _you_ here?"

"I had a meeting with a client." Sarah replied coolly. "Does Mum know you're not at TAFE?"

"Why the Hell do you keep asking me if Mum knows what I'm doing or not?!" Emma cried. "What about all the stuff that _you_ did last year?"

"That's got nothing to do with this." Sarah retorted, crossing her arms.

"Oh, sure, so it's okay if _you_ go off the rails, but as soon as _I_ start doing something nobody understands, then it's like I've gone and killed somebody!" Emma put her hands on her hips. "Look, if you _must_ know," she was about to lie and Law, who was listening, knew it, from the position of her body and the tone of her voice, but they were very subtle signs that only _he_ could pick. "These guys are all in my class, and we're having a research day for our next project, which _you_ wouldn't understand!"

"Yeah, whatever." Sarah rolled her eyes, which today wore blue contacts. "I don't really care, I was just worried about you."

"I know..." Emma muttered, digging her toe into the sand. "But, remember when _I_ was worried about _you_ last year?"

"Yes, but _this_ is different!" Sarah snapped. "Are you still coming to the airport tonight to pick up Mum and Dad?"

"Of _course_ I am!" Emma snapped back. "Will you come to our place first?"

"Well, I have to, don't I?" Sarah shrugged. "So, I'll see you at seven."

"Yup, see you then." Emma nodded shortly, as her sister turned and walked away.

Emma watched her go, feeling a lonely thud in her chest, until she looked behind her, and saw Luffy, Ace, Law, Zoro and Nami watching her with varying looks of sympathy. Emma attempted a smile, and turned to walk back to them. It was time to go and see Whitebeard, and then she would have to go home - alone - and tidy the house.

She wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

Twister didn't say anything, even though a few of his associates were glaring at him.

Boss was the first to speak. "Just _what_ is it that you are doing, Twister?" He demanded to know. "You were supposed to erase everyone's memories and shut off the portal between the two dimensions! _What_ _happened_?!"_  
_

Twister was calm. "I changed my mind."

Boss groaned. "You can't _do_ that, Twister." He explained.

"I jussst did."

Fate was smiling, as per. the usual. "It seems that these small actions have re-written the destiny of all these people, wouldn't you agree, dear?" She asked Destiny, and the blue-haired woman merely scowled in response. "In fact, I think that it is all going very well."

Destiny sighed. "_Maybe_...but...this was _not_ supposed to happen."

"Maybe it was." An unexpected voice said, and all eyes turned to Chance, whose facial expression did not change as he went on. "I mean, none of us ever expected that one in a kajillion to be the one odd that came true, did we? When you think about it, this all started when Little Death broke the rules." He shrugged, like he was talking about the weather or something.

"Followed by Faith, then Cupid, then Twister." Boss glared at the ones in question from behind his dark sunglasses. "If _we_ break the rules, then what are the _humans_ going to start doing?"

"Boss," Faith spoke up, her blue gaze unwavering. "Perhaps...this for the best? If Little Death _really_ awaken..."

"Ssh!" Boss hissed, sounding anxious which, for him, was a _very_ rare occurrence. "Do _not_ speak that name, Faith! Do not even _consider_ for a moment that Little Death is aware of...of...that _thing's_ existence! If she is, then..." He sighed. "We are _all_ doomed...even us immortal ones..."_  
_

* * *

The house, which had just that morning been full of energy, seemed too quiet and desolate as Emma sat on the couch, drinking mocha and working on her long-stitch as she watched One Piece, although it made her heart ache. She knew that it was for the best, that it would be better for everybody if the others weren't staying here. But, still, it hurt.

Looking around, Emma smiled sadly. If they could've stayed...then, Luffy would be in the kitchen right now, raiding the pantry (they had given most of the provisions they'd gotten from Cocoyashi Village to the Whitebeard Pirates, though said crew seemed to have a never-ending storeroom). Zoro would be sitting at the table, cleaning his swords. Nami would be reading the West Australian paper, or maybe the Sunday Times. Law would be sitting on the reclining sofa chair, hands behind his head, and completely at ease. And Ace...well, Ace would probably be asleep!

The thought made Emma smile some more, and she looked at the Baby Den-Den Mushi on her wrist. _Maybe I'll just give them a call..._ She thought, prodding the sleeping snail to wake it up but, just then, she heard the laundry door opened, and jumped.

Sarah walked in, followed by the dog (she seemed to have a habit of letting him inside whenever she dropped by for a visit).

"Hi, _Nee-San_." Emma greeted her sister.

"Hello." Sarah said, smiling. They always seemed to get along okay _after_ their arguments, for some odd reason. "Umm, what happened to the house?"_  
_

Emma sighed. She'd been too lazy to clean it properly, and had just made a half-hearted attempt at it. Of _course_ her sister would notice and, if _she_ did, then Lee _certainly_ would.

Oh well, it was too late now.

"We'll get going in about ten minutes, okay?" Sarah suggested, and Emma nodded.

* * *

The drive to the airport took place in two separate cars, since Lee had suggested to the two girls that they do this. By the sounds of it, Lee and Bruce (mostly Lee) had purchased _everything_ they could get their hands on in Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney and Melbourne. Considering how much Lee and the girls used to buy in Bali, neither of them were surprised.

Emma took her car, and Sarah took hers. Emma followed Sarah on Roe Highway, cringing when she saw how many police were patrolling the roads near the airports, and making sure that she was doing _under_ the speed-limit, _just in case_...

She was still thinking about the police officers who had gone missing, and about the one that had arrested her, Carmilla Brown...Brown...Brown...

"Oh no..." Emma whispered, as she turned onto Dunreath Drive. An image of Carmilla, with her icy blue eyes, flashed into Emma's mind, followed by Georgia, with _her_ icy blue eyes... "Oh my God...what have I _done_...?" She wondered, as she drove around the round-a-bout, and stopped at the toll-gate to collect her ticket, before driving into the car-park of the Perth Domestic Airport. She stopped her car in a parking spot, and sat there for a few moments until Sarah came to get her.

* * *

At the domestic airport, unlike the international one (which was more impressive, however), you could wait for loved ones _at_ the gate. Following the same procedures as when they'd seen their parents off, Emma and Sarah made their way over to Gate Five, and sat on the window-sill, watching the planes coming in and taking off. Emma wished that she'd thought to bring her glasses with her, since the lights were all blurry out there on the runway for her.

She and her sister chatted about airplanes, and what it had been like flying to Bali with their Mother, and Emma re-told the story of the monsoon she had flown through coming back to Kuala Lumpur from Penang.

Emma checked her watch. Twenty minutes past eight...the flight was supposed to be in at eight...

Before she could ask her sister if she thought that everything was okay (_what if they CRASHED_?!), Sarah asked: "What _is_ that thing?"

Just then, a little kid nearby exclaimed: "It's a snail-phone thingie from One Piece!" He pointed to it. He was wearing a t-shirt with Luffy on it.

"Uh-huh." Emma laughed nervously, and hid it with her sleeve. "Just...got it from the anime shop...a-ha-ha-ha...ha..." Her shoulders sagged. _Yeah, right_. She thought, as a stewardess walked past them, and stood at the doors to Gate Five.

"And, what's with the compass?" Sarah eyed the compass warily.

"Umm...it's...Pirate Chic?" Emma suggested.

"Not really."

At that moment, a very large Qantas plane made its way slowly towards the terminal, and airport carts began driving towards it to collect the luggage. The plane came to a complete stop, and the stewardess at the gate opened the doors. Above them, a sign changed to now read: _Flight QT8944, Sydney - LANDED_._  
_

"Do you think this is Mum and Dad's flight?" Emma asked.

"Must be." Sarah smiled. "Come on."

They made their way over to the gate, as people began piling out of the walkway - by the looks of it, it had been a full flight.

Emma smiled as she watched kids run to their Dads and greet them, and lovers embrace, and families come out holding their sleeping children after a long and happy family holiday.

Then, she spotted a tall, olive-skinned woman with blonde hair, wearing a red blouse and black pants.

"Mum!" Emma cried, hurrying over to her and throwing her arms around her.

Lee hugged her back tightly, and then reached out her other arm to hug her other daughter.

"Did you have a good trip?" Emma asked.

"We did, but it's good to be back." Lee replied, as they all drew back, and Emma looked around.

"Where's Dad?" She asked.

Lee pointed. "He went on ahead."

"What the Hell?" Emma grinned, and walked quickly over to the tan-skinned man with the greying-black beard and moustache, and blue eyes. He was wearing a black and grey striped polo shirt and grey pants, and wheeling a hand-luggage case similar to Lee's. Emma hugged him tightly and, when Lee and Sarah came over to join them, the latter hugged him, also.

Emma couldn't stop smiling, happy that her family was together once more, as they made their way over to the escalator that would take them downstairs to where the luggage collection was. Emma walked in front with Bruce, asking him questions about his first flight and everything, and Sarah walked behind with Lee, talking to her about...something.

At the luggage collection conveyer-belts, as Emma was smiling at the sight of a drug-detector dog (it was a beagle, like her Aunty Bev's old dog Sassy had been), Sarah stood back and watched as Bruce got not one, not two, not three, but _four_ suitcases off of the conveyer, wondering what on _Earth_ her parents had _bought_.

"Oh, yeah," Emma voiced the question. "What did you buy? Did you bring me a present? Did you get the ponchos?" This last question was directed at Lee - Emma and Sarah had both been invited to their cousin Ashlee's twenty-third birthday party, and it was a Mexican party, so ponchos were a must.

Lee nodded, but then added: "We didn't really buy _that_ much."

Emma eyed the four suitcases. "Yeah. Sure."

* * *

Sarah drove her car home, with Bruce as the passenger.

Emma, however, was a passenger in her own car, as Lee decided to drive.

They chatted about the holiday, and about what had happened like seeing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, and about the scorpion that Lee had found in her room in Tasmania. She said that, between her and her husband, they must've driven over five thousand kilometres, since they'd driven from Melbourne to Sydney. They hadn't really liked Melbourne, but Sydney had been good. Tasmania was just beautiful. They'd only been in Adelaide for two days, and their sleep had been interrupted by the Fringe World Festival but, all in all, it had been a good holiday for their wedding anniversary.

"That's good." Emma said, snuggling down into her seat, and listening to _Distorted Princess_ on her I-Pod. She was _just_ starting to close her eyes, when her Mother spoke to her again._  
_

"How much of my wine did you drink while we were away?"

Emma's eyes flew open, and she tried not to panic, although her heart was pounding in her chest. "Umm...a bit..." She muttered.

"_How_ much?" Lee wanted to know.

_I can't lie...she's going to find out, anyway..._ Emma gulped, and replied: "A few bottles..."

"Emma, how _could_ you?" Lee asked angrily, as she turned onto the Kwinana Freeway. "I wanted to have a few drinks when I got home tonight - is there _any_ left?"_  
_

"N-no, not really..." Emma stammered.

"What makes you think you can just _steal_ from other people?" Lee snapped, as the car accelerated to one hundred. "Especially _my_ alcohol. You're turning into an alcoholic, you know that?"

"Mmhmm." Emma muttered, staring at the Baby Den-Den Mushi that was sleeping on her wrist. _Thanks Ace-Chan, thanks a _lot_..._ Emma thought but, somehow, she couldn't blame him. There must've been a _reason_ why he'd done what he did...she would have to ask him.

Lee fumed, and Emma just stared out the window.

"Sarah also tells me..." Lee began, and Emma swung her head around to look at her.

"What?!" She gasped. "What did she tell you?"

"What do _you_ think she told me?" Lee raised an eyebrow.

Not wanting to say anything that Sarah might _not_ have said, Emma said: "I dunno, what?"

"You tell me."

"_I don't know_!"

Lee turned onto Beelier Drive. "She told me that the house is an absolute mess." She faced the front again. "We'll talk more about this when we get home." She said, and Emma didn't reply.

_Why does it always end up like this?_ She thought sadly.

* * *

At home, Ranger was _ecstatic_ to see Lee and Bruce again, and jumped about, whining happily, his tail wagging.

Lee took him out the back while Bruce brought the suitcases in, since the sight of suitcases tended to upset the dog, as he knew what they meant - people tended to go away for certain amounts of time whenever suitcases showed up, so they tried to avoid him seeing them as much as possible.

A few minutes later, after coming back in, Lee was seeing Sarah off (Sarah had work the next day, and needed to drive all the way back to Baldivis). Emma was up in the master bedroom, watching Bruce unpack his suitcases.

He handed her a soft mauve poncho, which she immediately put on, admiring how she looked in the mirror down in the vanity area when she went down there.

Then, from the dining room, she heard Lee say: "...five hundred dollars..."

Emma froze, feeling all of her happiness and self-nerve dissolve, as she took off the poncho, and then Lee called: "Emma, come here, _right now_."

Knowing that tone of voice of her Mother's, Emma, walked slowly down the hall, and went into the dining room, where both her parents were standing, looking stern.

Emma bit her lip as she picked at her nail, and waited.

"Sit." Lee pointed to a chair, and Emma sat. "Now, would you mind telling me how you found the key to Nanna's cabinet?"

Emma, hoping that Lee wouldn't ask her _where_ she'd found it, replied: "I just...went looking for it..." She shrugged.

"And drank _five hundred dollars_ worth of our alcohol?" Lee said.

"I didn't drink it all in one night!" Emma exclaimed.

"That's not the point!" Lee snapped back. "That was _not_ your alcohol to drink - you _deliberately_ _stole_ from me!" She looked at Bruce. "Say something to her, Bruce, I...I don't know what to say." She admitted.

Bruce faced Emma with a stern gaze. "Why did you do the wrong thing, _again_?" He asked her.

Emma dropped her gaze, the harshness of her Father's voice _way_ worse than _anything_ her mother could throw at her short of a punch. "I...I don't know...I just...did..."

"You're going to end up as an alcoholic, Emma!" Lee told her. "Is that what you want?!"

Emma just shrugged. She didn't know how to respond to any of this. A sudden flash in her mind reminded her of the other similar conversations.

_You're going to end up failing. Is that what you want?_

_You're going to end up with _nothing_. Is that what you want?_

_You're going to end up in jail. Is that what you want?_

_You're going to end up _as_ nothing. Is that what you want?_

_Is that what you want? Is that what you want? Is that what..._

Emma stood up. Her heart was pounding. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" She said, through gritted teeth. Without looking at her parents, she turned on her heel and headed straight back towards the bathroom. "I'll be going to have a shower, now." She declared.

"Emma, get _back_ here!" Lee snapped.

Emma didn't answer, and just quickened her pace, making it to the bathroom where she slammed the door and locked it. Leaning against the door, Emma breathed heavily. _Whew...I'm surprised Mum didn't follow me, she usually does...maybe she doesn't want to fight right now, either..._

* * *

However, Lee wasn't finished just yet. When Emma got out of the shower, Lee called her into the living room, where her laptop was sitting open on her lap. Emma didn't have to look at what web-page was open, she already knew that it was the bank website.

"_What_ have you been spending all of your money on?" Lee demanded to know. "You withdrew seventy dollars today, and last week you withdrew over a hundred..."

_Okay, how do I explain this without telling her?_ Emma wondered, but Lee interrupted her thoughts.

"Go and get me your card." Lee said, and Emma gasped.

"What, you can't..."

"You're not having it." Lee said. "In fact, go and get me your whole wallet - _now_."

Emma walked out to her car in the garage, and leaned in, to where she'd left her bag that day. There was still sand on the floor of her car, from where she'd forgotten to shake a lot of it out of her shoes. The song, _Sand In My Shoes_, Dido, entered her mind and, blinking back tears, Emma quickly took out thirty dollars, stashing it under the seat before returning to the living room.

She handed her wallet wordlessly to her Mum, who asked her again: "What did you buy?"

"Umm, some manga...and, a DVD..."

"Go and get them."

"_What_?!"

"You heard me." Lee had opened up the pink wallet with the white bow, and began to go through it, much to Emma's annoyance.

Emma turned and walked down the hall to her bedroom, kneeling on the floor beside her manga collection. There was no way in Hell she was going to show her Mother the _real_ manga she'd bought, and so she picked out a few old ones like _Death Note_ and _Claymore_, before selecting a random Pokemon DVD (_Arceus And The Jewel Of Life_) before going back out to the living room, where her Father was drinking Pepsi and watching the news. He pointed wordlessly to the table, where Emma placed the books and DVD - she had a feeling that she wouldn't see them again for awhile. It had happened before.

Lee then came back in, from where she'd just been out to Emma's car. In one hand, she held the thirty dollars. In the other, she held Emma's sandy shoes, which she threw onto the ground. She pointed to them. "Pick them up, and then clean up this mess." She ordered. "Where did all of that sand come from?"

"I went to the beach." Emma replied shortly, picking up her shoes and going to the sliding doors to shake them out.

"Not there!" Lee snapped, and so Emma walked out further, shaking the remainder of the sand out into the back garden. "Sarah told me that you didn't go to TAFE today." She added, as Emma came back towards the house.

Emma was angry. "I had an off-campus assignment to do!"

"Don't lie to me!" Lee exclaimed. She stood in the doorway, barring Emma's way in.

"I'm not lying!" Emma lied. "I really _did _have to be there today! And, another thing, I need some money for tomorrow, for lunch, and coffee, and..."

"No way!" Lee laughed shortly. "You're not getting your card back again, _ever_! I am _so_ disappointed in you, Emma!"

"But, Mum, I need my money!" Emma protested, feeling weak.

"You owe your Father and I _over_ five hundred dollars!" Lee yelled. "You'll just have to go without!"

"I _can't_, I need to eat!" Emma shouted. "You're not being fair!"

SMACK!

Lee whipped her hand across her daughter's face, before she could even stop herself.

Emma gasped, her hand flying up to the side of her face, which was turning bright red.

Emma had _wanted_ to block it, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up to her Mother that way. This was her _Mother_ - as Lee had said in the past, she could punish her daughter however she wanted to.

Tears brimming in her eyes, Emma turned on her heel and sprinted off into the darkness, running down the back, so she didn't see Lee put a hand to her forehead and sigh unhappily.

Emma didn't stop until she reached the shed where the tractor and the ride-on-lawnmower were kept. There, she flung herself into the small space between the wall and the tractor, and burst into tears.

* * *

The next day, Ace was woken up by Marco shaking his shoulder.

"Yoi, Ace," the blonde said. "Your Grandfather's here."

"Huh?" Ace was only half awake. "Wazzat?"

Marco rolled his eyes. "Yoi, you're still half-asleep. Ace, it's me, Marco. You're onboard the Moby Dick. Your Grandfather's here."

"Huh?" Ace was surprised, and fully awake now. "_Ojīchan_ came _here_?"

Marco nodded, as he escorted Ace from the room. "_Hai_. Don't worry, he's here peacefully...well, sort of..."

Curious, Ace followed Marco back up to the deck.

"He was the one that warned us that Emma was in danger back in Dunsborough." Marco added, in answer to Ace's unspoken question.

"Is that so?"

"Mmhmm." Marco sounded suspiciously casual, even though he was talking about a 'frenemy'. "He seems to be concerned about that girl's welfare."

Ace didn't doubt that for, as soon as he took a single step onto the deck, he was punched full-on in the face by one very angry Monkey D. Garp.

As Ace hit the wall at the other side of the ship, his nose spurting blood from the well-aimed Haki-infused punch curtesy of his Grandpa, the man himself stood on the deck, breathing heavily. The other crew-members must've been aware of Garp's intentions, because they didn't move from their spots on the deck.

Ace picked himself up, and glared angrily at his Grandfather. "What the _Hell_, old man...?!"

Garp cut him off. "_What on _Earth_ got into your head, you ignorant _idiot?!" He shouted. "_What in God's name possessed you to drink all that alcohol at Emma's house_?!"

Ace just stared at him. "What is...?"

"_When her parents came home last night, there was a huge argument_!" Garp was seeing red, furious that his adopted grandson's actions had caused the events of last night. "_What I just did to you is similar to what Emma's Mother did to her_!"

Ace gasped, the blood draining from his face far faster than his nose. Around him, everyone seemed to have gone still, and Nami looked shocked - there was a certain degree of emotion in her deep brown eyes - as Law's own eyes darkened at the news.

Garp appeared to calm down after this, but he still spoke angrily as he said: "I went to visit last night, and let me tell you, I was _horribly_ surprised by what I saw. _How_ could you leave her like that?" He demanded to know.

Nami spoke up, sounding nervous. "She...asked us...to..." She trailed off under Garp's glare.

"How is she?" Law asked suddenly, glancing at the Vice-Admiral.

"Yes, please tell us." Sumi added, stepping forward. "How hard was she hit?"

"It doesn't matter." Ace and Luffy said, at exactly the same time and in the exact same tone of voice.

"I have to see her." Ace added. "Today! I'm going to her TAFE!"

* * *

Back at her house, Emma groaned as she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying last night, and there were dark circles under them as a result of this. But, worse yet, on one side of her very pale face, was the start of a very big, and very purple and blue bruise.

Well, at least Ace wouldn't see it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. 'Shite' is a word that Emma invented, since she doesn't like to swear that much.**

**. _Decadence_, by Disturbed - watch?v=_vJlYoogYVE**

**. _Circle In The Sand_, by Belinda Carlisle - watch?v=c8EvHmj3MfQ**

**. _Distorted Princess_, by Hatsune Miku - watch?v=NxXkCioy_qE**

**. An example of the emotion in Nami's eyes (watch Sora at 0:54) - watch?v=Z4BMzMNWRcc . Does anybody know what this is called? An Abridged series (I think it was _Princess Tutu_) called it 'vibrate-y eyes thing', but that isn't it...**

* * *

_Kouralia - thank you for your review. ^^ What areas do you think I can improve on?_

_MsWildLuck - OMG, Boa, what are you doing here?! *Panics* Okay, I'll write more!_

_KaiF . Raphaella - I'm glad that it made you laugh, but don't forget to breathe! XD_

_Cocoa Liddell - I agree, Law is great, but there's just something so loveable about Ace! He got into trouble for getting Emma into trouble, though! Thanks for the support, I'm hoping that my writing will keep on improving until it just seems seamless - like JK Rowling, only without the profit. ^/ / / /^ Oh well, I can always try! XD_

_person - :D Yes, these was a Harry Potter reference in there, I just couldn't resist, can you blame me? And, yosh, love-triangles INSPIRE insanity!_

_WindWhistle21 - the love-triangle will get more heated, let me promise you that! Ooh, but you like Law! This is getting interesting!_

_Chieko Namikaze - yup, they got it back, I hope I cleared up any further confusion for everybody. ^^ But, you're in favour of EmmaxAce...oh, the humanity! *Faints from controversy overload* Well, let's see what happens!_

_Mugiwara Otome - thank you! ^^ Hmm, knowing Law, it might be something Emma's not expecting! XD_

* * *

So, who do you think Emma should end up with, Law or Ace? I've been getting a few opinions...not that that makes me happy or anything... ^/ / / /^ *Does happy squiggle dance of happiness*


	12. Never Gonna Be Alone

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE

Never Gonna Be Alone

* * *

Emma tried to concentrate on the lecture, she _really_ did - like last week, her teacher was talking about scanning in images at the correct resolution. Emma couldn't help that it was a boring lecture, or that she'd been sitting in the class _all_ _morning_ with her hand over the left side of her face, to hide her bruise. Her eyelids fluttered, and she hoped that she wouldn't fall asleep - the _last_ thing she needed was to be having a weird, Akainu-related dream in the middle of class, although she would only disappear if she took somebody with her._  
_

As it was, she wished that she could disappear right now. She was feeling tired and upset, and wished that she could go and buy a coffee but, of course, her funds had been cut. She also hadn't had time to eat anything that morning, and so was tired _and_ hungry. She hoped that the lesson would end soon so that she could go home and eat. She didn't like her chances of catching an afternoon nap.

With her free right hand, Emma scribbled pictures in her notebook (which was eighty-five percent just that, and only fifteen percent _actual_ TAFE work). She then looked down, to realise that she had just scribbled a chibi-version of Luffy. She added his hat, and it was perfect. Emma smiled, albeit a little bit sadly.

Just then, the teacher spoke, a little more loudly than usual. "Emma, Georgia, gave you two done your homework?"

"Huh, what homework?" They asked in unison.

A quick glance behind her told Emma that Georgia, like her, seemed distracted, and Emma was _pretty_ sure that she knew why. She felt terrible that she'd sent Georgia's sister to another world, but she really couldn't do much about it - if she found a way to somehow bring Carmilla back, then Carmilla would arrest her for...well...everything.

Fitz crossed his arms. "The homework I assigned last week, which was to take a photo of something and scan it in at different resolutions."

Emma and Georgia both blinked.

"Oh, umm, sorry...can I hand it in to you next week?" Georgie asked, and Fitz nodded impatiently.

"Yeah, same." Emma muttered.

Fitz sighed. "Look," he said, sounding annoyed, as he addressed the whole class which, apparently, only half of had actually done the assignment. "If you don't want to be here, then the door is over there. You can't tell a client that you'll hand something _next_ week when he wants it _this_ week, and when you're out there in the work force..." The lecturer continued to lecture them, and everyone pretty much tuned out, except for Georgia.

She stood up suddenly, interrupting Fitz halfway through his 'none of you will pass' speech. "You know what?" Georgia snapped, grabbing her things and heading towards the door. "Forget it then. Just _forget_ it!"

Everyone watched her go in complete and utter shock, before Emma made her split-second decision. She stood up and, ignoring the gasps from her fellow classmates due to them seeing the bruise on her face for the first time, hurried out of the room, calling: "Hey, Georgia, wait!"

She heard the door to her left close, and quickly went out that way, to find that Georgia had stopped on the steps of the balcony area and, as Emma watched, the other red-head sat down on the steps, resting her head in her hands.

Emma didn't like to think of what might have happened if she hadn't stopped her - Georgia stopping as soon as she realised she was being followed was proof that she'd _wanted_ to be stopped. Emma lingered by the door, and then said: "Georgia, I..."

"_What_?!"

"I'm sorry."

_That_ took Georgia by surprise, and she glanced curiously at Emma. "For what?"

That was a good question. What was Emma _supposed_ to say? For sending your sister to another dimension? For potentially ruining her life and yours? For our teacher being so strict?

Instead, Emma just walked carefully over to the edge of the balcony, and leaned against the railing, looking down. She saw Georgia's ice-coloured eyes take in the bruise across her face, but Georgia didn't comment on it. Emma took a deep breath, and sighed. "I feel like I owe you that apology, for misjudging you since we started TAFE."

"What do you mean?" Georgia raised an eyebrow.

"Well, to be honest, I thought that you were just a cold hard bitch." Emma admitted.

Georgia laughed shortly. "I _am_ a cold hard bitch. But," she sobered. "I know what you mean. To _me_, you just seemed like a real quiet space-case that could never pay attention."

_Does it ever end?_ Emma wondered, but she just smiled a bit, and replied: "You sound like somebody I know..."

"So, why did you _really_ come out here?" Georgia wanted to know, suddenly sounding suspicious.

"Because, I was worried about you." Emma said flatly. "And, I thought you could use a listener, since you're going through a rough time at the moment..."

"What would _you_ know?" Georgia questioned.

"More than you think I do." Emma muttered.

Georgia stood up, hitching her bag onto her shoulder again. "Look, thanks but, no thanks." She began walking down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps, however, she raised a hand and added: "Later."

"_Ja_ _ne_." Emma replied quietly, watching her go, before turning her face up to the sky. It was an overcast day, but it didn't look like rain. Then again, what _would_ she know? She was no Navigator...she wasn't Nami. She thought back to how Luffy kept calling her his Nakama, and how both Whitebeard and Ace had expressed their opinions in wanting her to join the Whitebeard Pirates (Whitebeard, albeit, in his own subtle way and Ace in a...not-so-subtle way). If she _were_ to become part of a crew, then what would she _do_?

Musician? No, Luffy already had one of them, and she doubted she would fit in as a Musician of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Log-Keeper? She liked writing, but...she was sure that Nami and/or Robin kept the log-books for the Straw Hat Pirates and there were so many Whitebeard Pirates that there must be at least _twenty_ log-keepers for that crew...besides, she liked writing fiction, not fact.

Ship-Guard? Might as well start calling her a Neowban Brother...err, Sister. That wouldn't work.

And, she realised, she'd just gone off subject again. Her thoughts had wandered away from her and, if Law were here, then he'd have said something about it.

Emma sighed, and turned around, not wanting to go back to class and wishing that she'd thought to grab her things like Georgia had.

When people were late into TAFE, the lecturers often stated that said people would go into 'ninja-mode', and try to sneak in undetected. Emma attempted that now and, so wrapped up in being a sneaky-sneak, that she failed to notice the out-of-place person standing in the room, until he came up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" Emma was busy logging off of her computer, and only half-turned. Then: "Luffy?! What are _you_ doing here?!" She turned around all the way around, blinking. "For what reason...?"

Luffy began to reply: "_Ojichan_ came and told us what happened last night between you and-"

Emma cut him off, saying loudly: "_Okay_!" She grabbed her stuff, pushing it into her backpack, before jumping up and grabbing the bag and Luffy's arm. As she was hurrying him out of the room, she called to her shocked lecturer: "I'll hand the assignment in next week, Fitz!"

* * *

Once out on the street, Emma found Ace and Law waiting for her.

She stopped, as Luffy walked ahead, and stared at the three men in front of her. She didn't say anything.

Ace took a step towards her, and then stopped. He was looking at her face, which she immediately tried to hide with her hand. When that didn't work - all three of them were still staring - she turned away.

She heard Ace start to walk towards her again, but he stopped when she asked him: "Why did you come here..._how_ did you come here?"

"We caught the train from Fremantle." Ace replied, and Emma didn't dare ask how they had paid for it, because she suspected that they _hadn't_. "Emiko, look, I...I'm..."

"It's not your fault, so don't apologize." She cut him off.

"No, it _is_ my fault." Ace said strongly. "It's because of me that you got hurt and, well...I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Emma repeated, shaking her head. Tears were threatening her eyes, and her face really _did_ hurt. "Just tell me why you did it."

"It's...no excuse..." Ace muttered uncomfortably.

"I need to know."

Ace didn't seem capable of replying, but Law did. He said, quietly, but they could still hear him: "He read Volume 59 of the manga."

Emma gasped, feeling the colour drain from her face. Ace had..._read_ that? That horrible chapter of him dying, and Luffy losing his spirit? That horrible future that almost was...?

Emma took a deep, shaky breath.

"Like I said, it's no excuse for what I did." Ace stated. "Emiko, I'm _really_ sorry..."

"No, Ace-Chan." She cut him off again, half-turning. "_I_ am...I shouldn't have kept that from you. I _tried_ to tell you last week but...well, the truth was...I was really, _really_ scared." She turned all the way around and looked up at him, her eyes bright with tears. "Please forgive me?" She whispered.

Ace looked surprised. "There's nothing _to_ forgive..." He closed the distance between them, and reached out a warm hand to touch the bruise on the left side of Emma's face. "I'm just angry that your Mum thinks she can get away with doing this to you." He used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear that escaped from Emma's left eye.

"Umm, Ace-Chan, she's my _Mum_..." Emma reminded him. "She can do whatever she..."

"No, she can't." Law said, as he and Luffy approached. "That bruise isn't going to go away for a few days now...Garp was _furious_." He added.

Emma sighed. "I can imagine...but, please don't do anything. As bad as this appears, my Mum isn't all that bad. She just loses her temper from time-to-time..."

"It doesn't matter." Ace stated. "I can't just let this one go."

Emma looked up at him, worry in her eyes. "What...what are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to meet her."

* * *

Georgia dropped her cigarette onto the ground and stamped it out, before turning and walking towards the gates, where she tagged on with her Smart-Rider. She stepped onto the escalator that would take her to the Midland train line, and saw a familiar black-clad figure out of the corner of her eye, on the other escalator.

As Georgia watched, she and Emma reached the platforms at the same time, and Emma stopped and looked around. Georgia watched as Emma's face lit up, and she raised a hand in greeting.

Three men walked towards her, all of them had black hair and could be considered handsome. Georgia narrowed her eyes, recognising the straw hat that one was wearing as the same one that _Emma_ herself had been wearing last week.

As Georgia watched, the tallest of the men walked ahead after giving Emma a quick glance. The straw hat boy ruffled Emma's hair, and the third guy (who wasn't wearing a shirt and had a purple tattoo on his back that reminded Georgia of a swastika crossed with a pirate symbol) subtly held out his hand, Emma took it.

They walked together towards the Perth Underground.

Georgia watched them go, getting a very strange feeling inside after that, but she wasn't sure why...she considered a few things as she got onto the train, and sat there thinking about it as the doors were closing.

A guy with a straw hat...another guy with a purple tattoo on his back...that symbol that looked like a pirate flag symbol...

Two people sat next to Georgia and were talking amongst themselves. Georgia heard bits and snitches of their conversation.

"...that train over there, is that the one that goes to Kalgoorlie?"

"No, that's the Prospector you're thinking of. This one's the Australind, it goes to Bunbury."

"Yeah...hey, did you hear about that pirate ship that appeared in Dunsborough? It's _gone_!"

"How do you know it was a pirate ship?"

"Because it had a jolly roger on the flag."

"Oh."

Georgia closed her eyes, and tried to picture that weird ship that had appeared, with its whale figure-head and flag...she remembered seeing it on the news, and how Carmilla had seemed disconcerted by its appearance...she remembered the symbol on the flag...and then, she remembered the symbol on that shirtless guy's back...

Georgia's eyes snapped open. "Wait...a minute..."

* * *

"I feel kind of bad, not warning my Mum about this." Emma muttered, as she started her car and then drove it out of the train station car park. "But, I can't exactly call her."

"When are you getting your phone replaced?" Law wanted to know.

"On the weekend." Emma replied. "Mum said she'd take me shopping." She added, in a voice that said: _See? She's a nice person._

The boys were not convinced, but all of them had made their decisions on meeting Emma's parents, whether she liked it or not. She'd made them _promise_ to be civil, and hold their tongues, and _not_ say anything weird. She'd instructed them to lie and say that they were at TAFE with her, but in a different class, and had added to Luffy that if he couldn't lie, then he should just let her and Ace do all the talking. She'd _told_ them all to be on their best behaviour...

So, why was she feeling so nervous as she pulled into the driveway, and drove the car around to the back?

They all got out, and Emma turned to them. "Okay, wait here...I'll go and, umm...tell them...yeah..." She turned, and walked in a somewhat robot-like way up to the house. "Okay, breathe, you can do this, just relax..." She felt stressed. Imagine, not wanting to go into your own house.

She opened the door leading from the garage to the laundry, and was almost immediately bombarded by her Mother.

"Why are you home so early?" Lee demanded to know, not turning around from where she was cooking Emma's favourite curry at the stove.

"Half-day Mum, as always." Emma replied, sliding off her backpack and lingering at the door.

"Since when?" Lee wanted to know.

"Since I started semester two this year, Mum." Emma rolled her eyes, and then cleared her throat. "Umm, Mum...I..."

"I have a job for you to do this afternoon, Emma," Lee said and, when Emma opened her mouth, Lee cut her off. "And, I don't want to hear 'no' or 'I have homework' because that's bullshit and we _both_ know it! I just spent _all_ morning on _my_ week off work cleaning up after the mess that _you_ made while your Father and I were away! I'm also making some curry for you, if you haven't noticed!"

"I didn't _ask_ you to make this curry for me!" Emma replied hotly. Then: "Mum, I..."

Lee turned around, and saw Emma's face for the first time. Her expression changed. "Oh, Emma..." She trailed off and didn't say anything, just looking at her daughter's face before coming around from within the kitchen and reaching out a hand.

Emma jerked away, out of instinct, and said again: "Mum, I..."

"Stop moving back every time I come _near_ you, Emma." Lee looked annoyed.

"I _would_ if you'd stop losing your temper!" Emma snapped back.

"Don't raise your voice at me." Lee ordered her, turning around. "Did you put something on your face this morning?"

"No, Mum, I didn't have time." Emma sighed, and tried again, one last time. "Mum, I..."

"Well, come and put something on it, now."

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" Emma fairly screamed.

Lee looked just as surprised as Emma felt when the words came out, and both of them stared at each other for a moment, before Lee turned around without another word, and left the room.

Emma was left there, feeling numb. "Mum, wait, I..." She called, and then moved back slightly, feeling torn and distracted. What should she do? Go and make amends with her Mother, and then introduce the boys to her? Or, just skip it all entirely and get out of here as fast as she could?

Emma turned, and walked quickly from the house, not bothering to close the door or tell her parents where she was going. She just hurried down the driveway, to where the boys were waiting for her impatiently.

"What's going on?" Ace asked immediately, seeing the look on Emma's face.

"Change of plans, let's just go." Emma said, opening the car door.

"Why, what happened?" Luffy wanted to know, as they climbed into the car again.

"Can't talk, too upset." Emma murmured, starting the car and driving out of the driveway as quickly as she dared. She sped down the street, and turned onto the road that people treated like a main road but, really, it wasn't. Only when she was on Armadale Road did she tell them what had happened.

"Why do I always fight with my Mum?" She wondered, taking a hand off the steering wheel and resting her face in her palm at the lights, as she had her elbow on the side of the door.

"Maybe you just have too many differences of opinion?" Law suggested. "Or, it could be that you're both very similar." He added.

"Okay...you lost me." Luffy spoke up from the backseat, where he and Ace were sitting. "How can they be different but the same?"

"No, no, I understand him." Emma sighed, as she pulled away from the lights. "What he means is that, while my Mum and I see the world in a different light, we're both so stubborn and hot-headed that we don't agree to, well, disagree."

"Of course, I don't know your Mum personally, so I can't make any judgements." Law sat back, smiling.

"Hmm..." Ace mused, and then asked Emma: "_Ne_, Emiko...any special reason why we're going this way?"

"Well...I guess I'm taking you guys back to the ship," Emma said, as they drove over the hill and saw the ocean glittering in the horizon - the weather had cleared up, and promised for a spectacular sunset. "And...yeah...oh!" She turned to them as she approached another set of lights. "Please, _please_ don't mention _any_ of this to Nami, okay?"

"Why?" The three men asked her in unison.

"Because..." Emma turned back to face the front, watching a Mum walk across the road with her two daughters. "I may argue with my Mum, but at least I still _have_ a Mum...I bet that Nami would give _anything_ to argue with Bellemere again..."

* * *

"So, have you seen much of this world, yet?" Sumi asked Nami, as they sat together in the crows nest of the Moby Dick.

Nami shook her head. "I've just arrived." She explained.

"We should ask Emma to take us out sometime, a girl's-only outing." Sumi suggested.

Nami grinned. "Excellent - I want to check out some of the shops in this world."

Sumi looked down. "_Ne_, Nami-Chan...do you ever get worried that, you know, maybe we _won't_ be able to go back to our own world to stay? I mean, with everything that's going on...?"

Nami shook her head again. "_Iie_. You wanna know why? Because Luffy's still confident that we'll be able to start our journey again and, as long as he's certain, then so am I."

"You really look up to Luffy, don't you?" Sumi questioned.

Nami smiled. "_Hai_..." She replied. "It's strange...if you'd asked me when I was your age if I would _ever_ look up to a pirate, then I would have said no. But now...Luffy saved me, long ago when we first met." She confided in Sumi. "He set me free."_  
_

Sumi nodded, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, it was...the same for Ace-Kun, and me..." Her hand was at her throat again, where her scars were.

Nami noticed, but didn't question, and they lapsed into silence, before Sumi spoke up again. "Speaking of Ace-Kun...what do you suppose is going on between him and Emma-Chan?" Sumi giggled.

Nami did, as well. "Hmm, I dunno...I'll tell you, though, I've noticed him and Law aren't exactly the best of friends."

Sumi grinned. "Sounds interesting. The crew has started taking bets."

Nami laughed. "Sign me up!"

Just then, there was a shout from below them, and a voice cried out: "Welcome back!"

Then: "Oi, you, swordsman, tell the girls."

"Why do _I_ have to do it?"

"Just _do_ it!"

Nami heard Zoro sigh, and then he called: "Oi, Nami!"

"What?!"

"They're back - come down here!"

Nami grinned at Sumi. "They're back, Sumi."

Sumi grinned back, and together the two girls stood up in the crow's nest, and then jumped down.

"No, not that...way..." Zoro rolled his eyes, as the two girls landed cat-like on the deck. _Show-offs..._

Nami just ignored him, and walked over to where the group was crowded around the four that had just appeared on the deck in a shower of ribbons. She nearly laughed at the sight of the men picking bits of red and gold ribbon off of themselves, but stopped when she saw Emma's face.

Emma saw her at the same time, and raised a hand in greeting. "Hi...Nami..."

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

Emma nodded, very quickly. "Umm, sure, yes, I am! I just...well, it's not important and I'm alright now! Come on, Ace-Chan, you promised me a late lunch!"

"Uh...huh..." Nami watched as Emma and Ace walked down below deck to the galley, and Law seemed to glare at them as they did. Nami snagged Luffy. "Hey, Luffy, what's wrong with Emma?"

Luffy looked away. "Oh, umm..._nothing_..." He lied.

Nami gave him a fierce Look. "_Luffy_..."

"Okay, it's like this, she didn't want you to know about the fight she had with her Mother, because at least she still _has_ a Mother, and she's sure that you wish you could still fight with your Mother!" Luffy exclaimed.

Everyone around them either face-palmed or rolled their eyes - that kid was a _terrible_ secret-keeper.

Nami, however, was used to it. She exchanged a glance with Sumi, who just shrugged, and Nami turned back to her Captain.

"Is that all?" Nami sighed. "I'm going to go and talk with her."

* * *

Nami walked into the dining room, to find it almost empty, save for the two people sitting in one corner, eating BLT's - bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

"So, you're completely broke?" Ace was saying, between bites.

Emma nodded, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Umm, yeah...it's okay though, I'll just..."

"Dine And Dash?" Ace suggested.

"_Improvise_." Emma frowned, and then sighed. "It'll be good when I'm strong enough to _not_ turn into a cat when I use my powers to go to your world...I just have to get strong enough to beat Coby, but..."

"But what?" Ace glanced at her.

Emma looked down. "I haven't had a chance to tell my parents how much my martial arts lessons are costing me, and...I don't think they'll let me continue..."

Ace blinked, and then smiled. "Hey, no problem - _we'll_ teach you!"

Emma looked up in surprise. "You will?"

He nodded. "Sure - and, trust me, my training methods are a _lot_ better than ___Ojīchan's_, trust me..." He promptly fell asleep._  
_

Emma rolled her eyes, and then looked up, to see Nami standing there, smiling at her. "Oh, Nami...what's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you." Nami sat down across the table from her and, ignoring the sleeping Ace, turned her face serious as she said: "I know you had a fight with your Mum last night, and today."

Emma stared at her. "Luffy told you, didn't he?"

Nami nodded. "_Hai_. If there's one thing I've learned from all this, it's that we don't keep secrets from each other. You don't have to keep things from us, Emma."

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "I guess..."

"I mean," Nami went on. "_You_ already know _everything_ about _us_, so..."

Emma cringed, and looked down. "So...what do you want to know?" She asked carefully.

Nami's gaze was soft. The younger woman replied: "Just don't keep secrets from us, okay?" She smiled. "Trust us."

Emma smiled back at her after a short while. "O-okay..._arigatoo_, Nami."

"And, my Mum has nothing to do with _your_ Mum so, if you two argue again, just tell me - I'll understand."

Emma just nodded.

Marco suddenly appeared at the stairs to the dining hall. "Yoi, Emma - Trafalgar Law is looking for you. He wants you to meet him in the crow's nest." He added.

Emma nodded, and stood up. Before she left, however, she handed a black texta from her pocket to Nami. "Here. Draw on Ace-Chan's face for me."

Nami grinned evilly, and set to work.

* * *

Emma climbed up into the crow's nest, and found Law waiting patiently, completely at ease and with his hands behind his head.

"You wanted to see me, Law-San?" Emma said, as she climbed up. The sun was beginning to set and, a quick glance at her watch told Emma that it was nearly six o'clock. If she still had her mobile phone, then her Mum would be ringing.

Law nodded, a small smirk still on his face. "Hn. I need something from you."

"What?" Emma blinked, feeling confused, as Law got up.

"Remember last week, when I said that you owed me?" Law questioned, and Emma nodded wordlessly. "Well, I've decided what I want from you."

Emma had a sudden thrill of fear, like an icy storm flying through her stomach. What was he...?

The sunset was reflected in Law's calm grey eyes, making them seem to appear almost on fire. He approached Emma slowly, and she had the sudden urge to use her powers to...escape?

Wait, why would she need to...?

Law was suddenly in front of her, and gripping her shoulders tightly with his hands.

"Law-San...?!"

Law leaned close to her. "Emma-San..." He was very close now..._too_ close, and suddenly...

Emma felt it when Law's lips touched her own...it was soft and gentle and yet, at the same time, she could feel the movement of his lips on hers as being a strange and almost alien feeling to her. She could smell the faintest taste of medical disinfectant on him...she could feel the texture of his goatee on her chin...she could _see_ something in those cool grey eyes, but she didn't know what it was...

All she knew was that she was frozen in place, unable to move or think during her _first ever kiss_.

She'd never even had a _boyfriend_...heck, she'd never even really _hugged_ a guy, and now...she'd lost her first kiss to a _debt_...

Tears stung her eyes, and spurred her into action - she put her hands up and pushed Law back suddenly, stepping back at the same time as she cried: "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_!"

As she vanished in a whirl of ribbons, and Law just stared at the place where she had vanished, his eyes happened to glance up, and over to the for topsail, and see a figure standing there.

Clad in pink, and with her blonde plaited pigtails billowing in the light breeze, Sumi stared back at Trafalgar Law in shock.

* * *

"Where _were_ you?!" Lee cried, as Emma walked back into the house._  
_

"Out." Emma said shortly, stalking out into the hall.

"Emma get _back_ here!" Lee snapped, following her daughter. "We need to talk!"

"I can't talk to you right now!" Emma retorted, quickening her pace.

"Emma, get _back_ here!"

"NO!" Emma shouted, hurrying to her room and slamming the door shut. She locked it, even though she knew it wouldn't last - her parents had the key. The lock had been installed on the door to keep her _out_, when her parents had locked her out of her room a few winters ago, to 'teach her a lesson'. She'd had no electric blanket or doona, hardly any clothes, no books or video games or drawing materials or music or computer...

Now, however, none of that mattered.

As Emma threw herself down onto her bed, her hand brushed against her compass, and an image immediately appeared as a hologram above it.

Emma stared at it, through the tears in her eyes, and watched as a patchy-cat ran from a dog that was chasing it. In its mouth was a smaller cat...which had antlers...

As Emma watched in shock, a wall of fire suddenly appeared in front of the two cats, and the dog was gaining on them...wait, it was more like a wolf...its fangs were bared, as the two cats were cornered.

And, suddenly, her own problems seemed miniscule.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. There's...nothing more to say. Except that, now, six things are happening:**

**- Emma and the others have to track down their Allies.**

**- Emma's got a love-triangle on her hands (she doesn't know it yet).**

**. Emma's relationship with her parents is on the rocks.**

**- The gods must be crazy.**

**- The World Government is still out there.**

**- The police in this world are involved.**

* * *

_Kouralia - oh, well then, thank you! ^^ Yes, I know the idea of the Akatsuki being turned into cats is very overused, I've read it. -_- Believe it or not, there's a reason that it was cats for this lot. I hope that the end of this chapter was LawxEmma enough for you... ^^_

_KaiF . Raphaella - she _nearly_ lost it a few times, but managed to hold back...a little bit. ^_^;; She was with Law in this chapter...sort of..._

_Wolf Spirite - yup, jinxing happens all the time when you forget to touch wood. XD Thanks for the review._

_Mugiwara Otome - I agree, Ace needs a girlfriend. He has a little brother that thinks he's the best, but he needs a girlfriend that thinks the same way! However, it's going to be more Jealous!Ace than Jealous!Law when Ace finds out about the kiss! XD nOW...__TAFE stands for Technical And Further Education. ^^ It's like university, but you don't need to do TEE (Tertiary Entrance Exams)._

___Cocoa Liddell - that's a good point. XD Seeing all of these opinions makes it even more fun for me to write. Thanks for the review._

___Chieko Namikaze - your opinion is dually noted. Emma and her parents have a...tedious relationship, it goes from one extreme to the other and there's hardly ever any middle ground. :( Sometimes she feels like they don't quite understand her. Garp will be there to help with her training, which will make her happy, as she looks up to him. :)_

_MsWildLuck - noooo, not Boa, anybody but HER! Thank you for your review. :)_

* * *

Okay, soooo...I have...four for Law, and four for Ace... *dies*


	13. Chopper And Usopp's Excellent Adventure

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Chopper And Usopp's Excellent Adventure

* * *

Emma sat in her car the next morning, staring at her Baby Den-Den Mushi, which was snoozing on her wrist. She reached for it, and withdrew her hand...she reached...and withdrew.

"Do I call them...or not?" Emma muttered. "I have to...I have to tell them what the compass showed me, but...what if Law-San answers? I can't believe that he _kissed_ me!" Emma shook her head. "Augh, give me a _sign_!"

Garp suddenly appeared from the bushes at the back of the driveway, startling Emma. She got quickly out of her car and walked towards him.

"Grandpa, what are you _doing_ here?!" Emma hissed. "With my parents home..." She was cut off by being wrenched into a nearly bone-crushing hug. "Iw-wi-be-bwd-nws..." (It will be bad news)._  
_

"Is that any way to greet your concerned Grandpa?!" Garp fairly shouted, as Emma struggled for a bit.

She managed to reach up, and brush her hand against the compass, which turned Garp into a cat. She was left holding him in her arms, and he was _heavy_! They looked at each other. Just then, Emma heard the door to the garage open, and her Mother's voice call out: "Emma, are you still here?"

Emma gasped. "Oh, no! It's Mum!" She practically _threw_ the grey and tan cat she was carrying onto the floor of the driver's side of her car, before jumping into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut. "Uh, yeah, Mum, but I was just leaving!"

"You'll be late if you don't hurry." Lee advised her.

"I _know_, I was on my way _out_!" Emma snapped.

"Don't yell at me." Lee said.

"I'm sorry." Emma replied contritely. "Are we still going shopping on the weekend?"

"Well, I don't know, now." Lee admitted. "I mean, you've got Ashlee's party tomorrow night. You might just have to use one of our old phones and SIM cards."

"Yeah, that's okay." Emma said distractedly, because Garp was currently pressed up against her legs, and seemed uncomfortable. "Umm, see ya!" She drove quickly out of the driveway, stopping only at the end of her street, to pick Garp up and put him on the passenger seat.

Garp looked at her as she drove, and said: "So, you're not going to be able to continue with your martial arts lessons anymore?"

Emma gasped. "Ace-Chan told you?!"

"No, you did, just then." Garp replied. "And, what's with this Ace-_Chan_ all of a sudden?" He suddenly looked thrilled. "Don't tell me..."

"It's not like that, Grandpa." Emma replied, rolling her eyes, as she drove towards the round-a-bout. "Ace-Chan and I are just friends."

Garp didn't respond to this, and instead what he said was: "Turn right here."

"But I..."

"Just _do_ it!"

"Okay, okay, jeez, keep your fur on." Emma muttered, obeying his orders and driving up the hill on Warton Road. "Where are we going?"

"Turn right here."

"But, this is..."

"Now!"

"_Okay_!"

* * *

And, Emma had to admit, that sneaking onto the shooting range of the Banjup Pistol Club for some very intense training _was_ better than going to TAFE, although she wondered what she would be missing out on, and hoped that it wasn't another assessment. It didn't matter, though, because a few hours spent running through the bush, dodging bullets and Garp's 'Fist Of Love' was both challenging and exhilarating and, by nine o'clock, she was feeling a lot better, as she sat in her car with the door open, and Garp treated her various scratches and scrapes.

Garp then suggested that they go out for an early lunch, which sounded fine to Emma especially after he said that he would be paying.

They sat at a seafood restaurant after driving to Fremantle, eating fish and chips (health food!). They watched the fish swim by in their tanks as they talked about her training, and what she still needed to learn, until they realised that it was probably easier to just list the things she _had_ learned, much to her chagrin. Sitting here, like this...it reminded Emma of when her Granddad had been alive. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, despite all of her various aches and pains, and adjusted her sunglasses and red beanie as the waitress came to give them their cheque.

"Thank you." Garp smiled at her, and then glanced at the cheque as she left. He furrowed his brow, and then held the cheque out to Emma. "Emma, what's that symbol that's just before the 55.90?"

Emma stared at him for a second, before she groaned. "That's a dollar sign, Grandpa...wait...don't tell me...you don't _have_ fifty-five dollars and ninety cents?" He shook his head. "Well then...what were you intending on paying with?" She had a feeling of dread in her stomach.

"Umm...Belis?"

"Grandpa, we don't _use_ Belis in this world!" Emma gasped, trying to keep her voice down, as she noticed the waitress whispering to an official man that looked like the manager, whom suddenly approached their table.

"Sir, is there a problem?" The manager asked Garp, who just stared at him for a moment, before standing up and motioning for Emma to do the same.

In unison, Grandfather and granddaughter both bowed, drawing in the attention of every patron in the dining establishment. And then, to the utter astonishment of the aforementioned, Garp and Emma both stated: "Thank you for this meal."

They then bolted from the restaurant as fast as they could, much to the surprise of the manager, whom quickly recovered and shouted: "STOP THOSE TWO! THEY DIDN'T PAY THEIR BILL!"

* * *

When Emma arrived on the Moby Dick at lunchtime, everyone was surprised to see that she had a huge red mark on her forehead, and appeared to be seething.

"What's the matter with you?" Nami wanted to know, and all she got in reply was: 'Garp' and 'Dine And Dash' and 'Dead Meat'. Whether that last part applied to Emma or to Garp or to both, Nami knew not. It appeared that Emma had been banging her head against a wall for quite some time, and Nami didn't question this, given the circumstances.

She just helped Emma to locate Zoro (asleep at the other end of the deck), and then the three of them went looking for Luffy and Ace.

They found the two brothers waging an all-out battle - on the kitchen.

A new recruit scurried up the steps, looking horrified as he tried to wipe the potato peels off his face. "Hurry up and _do_ something!" He begged. "Those two...they're _insane_!" He looked like he was about to burst into tears. "Please, oh God, _please_, they've...they've already taken the milk hostage, and are threatening to throw all of the tea and coffee overboard!" He took off, wailing. "Won't somebody _please_ think of the _coffee_!"

Nami rolled her eyes. "You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me." She groaned, as she stalked downstairs, and Zoro grabbed Emma's wrist, advising her to stay put.

From the kitchen, there was sudden two very audible thunks, followed by Nami yelling something unrepeatable, and then she reappeared, with the two brothers in tow.

They were both sporting red marks across their faces and dejected expressions, which brightened once they saw Emma.

"Hey, it's Emmy!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You came back!" Ace added, as they both hugged her, one on either side.

Emma blushed, and looked questioningly at Nami.

"They got worried when you took off yesterday without telling anybody, and you weren't answering their calls." Nami explained, smiling in a knowing way.

"Oh, that." Emma looked down. "Yeah, well...I had...a lot on my plate...oh, which reminds me!" She looked up again. "I got another, uh, _vision_-thingie from the compass!" She held it up, and tapped it with her finger. At once, the hologram appeared, showing the two cats from before. The only trouble was... "Oh no! That wolf's chasing them again!" Emma gasped, seeing the predicament that the two cats were in again. "They should really try and avoid him..." She added, as the two cats ran up a staircase together, and the scene swung out to reveal more of their surroundings.

Nami gasped. "Hold on, go back a second..."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "I don't think it _can_."

Nami ignored him, an said: "I think I _know_ that island...yes...I'm sure, it's..." She pointed her finger at the image of a disco ball. "Mirrorball Island!"

"Mirrorball Island?!" Everybody else repeated.

Nami nodded. "_Hai_, I'm sure now. Remember when the Marines chased us all over that place?" She asked Luffy, glaring at him.

Luffy ignored her glare, and just smiled. "Oh, yosh, now I do - that was so much fun!"

Nami just sighed. "Well, anyway, it looks like those two Allies could use our help, so we'd better go."

"Hn." Zoro nodded.

"Yeah, let's go and help them!" Luffy agreed.

"You in?" Emma asked Ace.

He grinned at her. "_Mochiron_, Emiko."

"Me too." Said a voice from behind them, and Emma jumped, recognizing that it was Law.

"Oh, you're c-coming t-too?" She stammered, not liking that smirk on his face.

He nodded, and noticed as she paled slightly. "Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?"

_YES!_ Emma sighed. "Of course not, Law-San." She replied, in a small voice.

_Hmm._ Ace thought, as he followed everyone out onto the main part of the deck. _What's this all about?_

Just then, Sumi jumped down from the crows nest, landing on top of Ace.

"What the...Sumi?!"

"Oh, Ace-Kun, I'm so sorry!"

* * *

"Hmm, hey, where's Ace?" Luffy asked, looking around.

Nami glanced over. "He's over there, talking to Sumi."

They all looked over, to where Sumi and Ace were having a hushed conversation. Every so often, Sumi would point over at them and, one time, she grabbed Ace's hands and shook her head vehemently, as a very angry look crossed his face.

"I wonder what they could be talking about..." Nami muttered, just as Ace patted Sumi on the head, before walking over to them with an unreadable expression.

"Shall we go?" Was all he said, as he took Emma and Luffy by the hands.

Emma nodded, and took Nami's hand. She took Zoro's hand, and then Ace and Law glanced at each other.

No, not glanced..._glared_.

Emma sighed, and began focusing her powers. "Hold hands unless you want to die..." She warned in a sing-song voice, and Law and Ace had no choice but to obey her.

* * *

Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Ace and Law arrived as per. the usual - covered in ribbons and Emma-less.

This didn't worry them as much as the huge crowd that was crowded around a giant visual screen, and watching in excitement what was going on on-screen.

As they walked closer, they could hear what people were saying.

"This is absolutely the _best_!"

"I never would have thought that cats could act this way!"

"Oh cool, this is the part where Patches saves Antlers from falling!"

Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Ace and Law stared up at the screen with varying degrees of shock now, as the patchy cat onscreen held onto the smaller cat's neck-scruff, trying desperately to keep him from falling. It didn't show the bottomless ravine, however - they were all pretty sure that there was an airbag there or something, but it was still exciting to watch.

"It's a...movie?" Zoro face-palmed. "I don't _believe_ it..."

"Oh, you'd _better_ believe it, swordsman." A nearby man said. "This is a new form of entertainment established by none other than Moonbay Fox!"

"Moonbay Fox?" Nami thought about this for a moment.

"Huh, somebody you know, Nami?" Luffy asked her, his eyes glued to the suspense on-screen, which was being filmed live via Surveillance Den-Den Mushi.

"No," Nami shook her head. "I've just heard Sanji mention her a few times. Moonbay Fox used to direct plays, but now she seems to have moved onto live-action movies. She directed Sanji and Robin's favourite play - '_I Saw What You Ate Last Tuesday_'." She added.

"Oh yeah, I almost saw that one." Luffy remembered.

Ace was watching the screen as well, as a flash of light and ribbons suddenly appeared, making everybody gasp, especially the ones that actually _knew_ what those ribbons _were_.

As they watched, a small (but not as small as the cat with antlers) red and white cat appeared in a flurry of ribbons, crashing straight into the two other cats.

Everyone gasped now, as the three cats fell over the edge together.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Grab_!" Emma called out in desperation, as ribbons shot out from her paws.

* * *

"CUT!" The woman with long dark red hair and scarlet eyes shouted, and the crew quickly worked to disable the connections. Moonbay Fox's eyes flashed. "Get over there now! Get me my actors _and_ that other cat!"

The crew nodded, and took off running, not wanting to invoke the director's wrath any further.

Fox sat down in her chair and frowned, considering what she'd just seen and heard. _Another talking cat? And, one with powers? This could be _very_ interesting..._

Fox happened to glance down then, and saw something shining in the grass by her booted feet. She picked it up, and saw that it was actually _two_ somethings - a heart-shaped necklace, and what appeared to be a compass.

Fox stared at them in her hand, before pocketing them.

Moments later, the crew had returned, holding all three cats, and leading the wolf (which was actually a trained dog) by a leash.

Fox stood up, and said: "Take all three of them to my trailer - I will be there shortly."

The crew nodded, and walked away holding the cats in their arms.

Emma, who hadn't dared to speak after announcing the name of her attack, now glanced worriedly over at the other two cats, but found that they looked perfectly at ease.

She waited until they were safely shut away in the trailer, before turning to them and asking: "Are you two alright?"

The little cat with the antlers opened his mouth to answer her, but was cut off when the bigger and patchier cat nudged him. "_Don't_ interact with her, Chopper! We don't know who she is!"

"Oh, right, Usopp. Sorry..."

Emma's mouth was hanging open by this stage, as she stared at the two cats in front of her. "Chopper? And Usopp? As in...the Straw Hat Pirates?"

Usopp gasped. "Aah, you see, Chopper, now she knows who we are from out Wanted posters!"

"I'm really sorry!"

"Don't be!" Emma interrupted them. She sat down and regarded them both. Usopp was an orange and brown patchy-looking tabby cat, while Chopper was a dark brown with lighter brown markings including reindeer spots - and, of course, that blue nose and those antlers. "I actually know who you are because I know Luffy! He's here looking for you, along with Zoro and Nami!"

Usopp looked excited. "Really? Luffy's here? Is he okay?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, everyone I just mentioned is doing fine. It's kind of a long story, though..." She added.

"How long is long?" Chopper wanted to know.

"Like, _really_ long, so if you were to write it all down, it would take about twelve chapters of a book." Emma explained.

Usopp settled down onto the carpet. "Well, we have some time - Fox _always_ takes her time when she's doing things, so we might be here for awhile."_  
_

Chopper lay down as well. "That's right." He said.

Emma sighed. "Okay, well, it started out when I bought this necklace..."

* * *

"Where should we start looking?" Luffy said, looking around.

"We need to start by finding somebody that _knows_ where this Moonbay Fox is." Ace suggested, just as the sound of running footsteps could be heard.

"Nami! Nami!" A voice yelled, and Nami turned around, to see a flurry of blonde hair and blue dress launch itself at her. Sugar wrapped her arms around Nami's waist. "Hello!"

Nami looked a little bit shocked, but smiled, as she hugged Sugar back. "Sugar, what are _you_ doing here?" She wanted to know.

Sugar smiled back up at her. "Visiting my big sister, of course!" She nodded. "I need to get my bracelet."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's right."

"What are _you_ guys doing here, anyway?" Sugar wanted to know, putting her hands on her hips.

"We're looking for somebody named Moonbay Fox." Nami explained, and Sugar looked excited.

"That's my big sister!" She cried. "One of them." She added.

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Umm, exactly _how_ many sisters do you _have_, Sugar?"

"Oh, well I've got _two_." Sugar held up two fingers. "Fox-Neesama's twenty-five." She added, like that made a difference.

_Wow, big age gap._ Nami thought. She knelt down, and asked Sugar: "Do you think that you could take us to see her? We'd really like to meet her."

Sugar nodded, her blonde curls bouncing. "Okay! She's doing some filming at the moment, about..." She glanced around, and then whispered, conspiratorially: "_Cats_."

"Ah, I see." Nami whispered back, straightening up.

Sugar took her by the hand, and led her down the street, leaving the others to follow.

Ace, however, lingered, and said: "Hey, Trafalgar."

Law turned around, raising one eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Ace's expression remained neutral, but his gaze was angry. "You stay _away_ from Emiko, you got it? She's _mine_. And _no one_ is taking her away from _me_."

Law smirked. "Then, we have a problem, don't we?"

"Seems that way." Ace nodded grimly, just as two hands stretched back, grabbing both of them by their collars and yanking them down the street, courtesy of one Monkey D. Luffy.

* * *

"...and, that's everything that I know." Emma finished up.

"Wow." Usopp and Chopper said in unison.

"You can say that again." She muttered dryly.

"Wow."

Emma smiled, and stretched. "Anyway, so what's your story? How did you two end up working for Moonbay Fox?"

"Oh," Usopp blinked. "Well, what happened was...one minute I was in the Boin Archipelago..."

"What were you doing there, Usopp?" Chopper asked innocently.

"Never mind!" Usopp snapped. "Anyway, so there I was, minding my own business and, the next thing I knew, I was teleported here, and transformed into a cat!"

Chopper nodded, and turned to Emma. "That's like what happened to me, except that I was in the Torino Kingdom at the time..." He looked down at his dark brown paws. "Being a cat is really, _really_ weird for me..."

Emma nodded. "I get it. What I _don't_ get is how you ended up in a movie."_  
_

"Perhaps _I_ can answer that question."

They all three of them turned towards the door, where Fox was leaning. She was a beautiful woman, dressed in a short white dress with a black scarf and tall white boots. She had on a long black coat. Her nails and lipstick matched her hair and eyes. The tips of her hair were dyed black.

Emma immediately pressed her paws to her mouth.

Fox said: "Don't worry, I already know that you can talk." She came inside, and shut the door to her trailer. Facing the three cats, she stated: "I also heard everything that you just said. If the World Government is indeed after you, then you should probably leave before they arrive. No doubt they will put two and two together after seeing my movies."

"No, Fox-San!" Chopper looked upset. He bounded over to her. "I _liked_ acting in your movies! It was fun, because the danger wasn't real and you took care of us!"

Fox looked down at him, her expression not changing. "Be that as it may, Chopper, I cannot allow you to continue acting in my movies if it will draw the Government here." She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the compass and necklace. "I believe that these belong to you." She told Emma. "I was planning on making you work to get them back, but the longer you all remain here, the more danger you put my crew in. I'm sorry, but you'll all have to leave. Find your crew-mates, and leave this island quickly." She suggested, just as there was a knock on the door.

"Fox-Sama!" A man's voice called from outside. "The Marines are here to see you!"

Usopp and Chopper gasped, and Emma felt a thrill of fear - they'd found them!

Fox looked irritated, as she shoved the necklace and the compass back into her pocket. "Stay here!" She hissed, hurrying from the trailer, managing to make it look like she _wasn't_ hurrying.

Chopper scurried back to Usopp and Emma. "I wish that Luffy were here!" Chopper whimpered.

"Me too." Usopp admitted.

"Me three." Emma added, jumping up onto a table, followed by the other two cats.

They cautiously peeked out the window.

* * *

"I'm telling you, _I don't know_." Fox said, and sat back in her chair, completely at ease.

"She _has_ to be here! The _first_ thing she said she'd _do_ on this island was come and find you!"

Fox held up her hand. "Calm down, _Pechapai-Chan_." She smirked.

Her younger sister blushed furiously, crossing her arms across her chest as she stated: "Look, Fox, _just_ because you're older and _just_ because you have a D-Cup and _just_ because you don't wear glasses, _doesn't_ mean you get to boss me around and such!"

"Ah, yes it does." Fox smiled. "Calm down Tashigi, and relax - I'm sure that Sugar's fine."

"That's what you said _last_ time, and she nearly got herself _killed_ by _pirates_!" Tashigi threw her hands up in the air.

"That was Uncle Nezumi's fault, if I remember correctly." Fox pointed out. Tashigi was glad to hear that Fox's tone of voice implied that she didn't like their Uncle anymore than Tashigi herself did. "At least _I_ didn't lose her as soon as the ship docked."

Tashigi gave her a Look. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Fox shook her head. "No, sister dear, I'm not."

Tashigi looked angry. "Oh, _why_ did I even bother asking?! I'm embarrassed to be even _related_ to you! Ever since Mum and Dad died, _I've_ been doing all the work while _you've_ been sitting pretty here making your movies, and..."

"Tashigi." Fox said, still smiling. "Sugar's over there." She pointed.

Tashigi was still ranting. "And they _told_ me back at HQ...wait, what?" She turned around, and spied their little sister's familiar head of golden hair._  
_

Sugar was running up the hill towards them, and waving. And, right behind her were...

Fox stood up quickly, her brilliant scarlet eyes taking in the situation quickly, as she whipped off her jacket.

Next to her, Tashigi's eyes had glazed over, and they were focused on one man in particular, a green-haired man carrying three swords with him.

Sugar suddenly stopped running, and stood in the middle of the two groups, just as Tashigi's subordinates appeared behind her and her sister, guns cocked and at the ready.

Sugar turned back to look at the Straw Hat Pirates, and then covered her hand with her mouth. "Oops, I'm sorry...I didn't realise that Tashigi-Neechan was here, too..."

"Oh, _now_ you tell us that woman's your sister?!" Zoro cried.

Nami whacked him upside the head. "_Don't_ yell at her!"

"Well, what did you expect?" Ace said calmly. "Her Uncle _is_ a Marine officer, after all." He readied his Devil Fruit powers.

Tashigi fixed her gaze on Zoro, but addressed all of the Straw Hat Pirates. "Any last words, pirates?" She asked them, unsheathing her sword.

"Yeah," Luffy turned to her, and then pointed at Fox. "Can I have your autograph?"

* * *

Emma, Usopp and Chopper watched in shock as the battle commenced, and the wave of Marines at Tashigi's disposal just kept on coming.

The Marines kept Nami, Ace and Law busy.

Tashigi fought against Zoro again, and everyone seemed to move back and give them room, for fear of getting in the way of the two enemy swordsmen.

Luffy was about to jump into the battle, when a flash of red appeared by his side, which he only barely dodged.

"Oh no!" Chopper cried. "Fox-San went into her Hybrid-Form!"

"Her...Hybrid-Form...?" Emma repeated, and watched as a half-human, half-fox began to engage in a ferocious battle with Luffy. "Oh my God...she's got a cool Devil Fruit power..."

"Don't call it _cool_ when she's fighting against Luffy!" Usopp scolded her. "This is bad, I can't believe Fox is doing this..."

"Well, I can..." Emma murmured. "After all, we're pirates, and her sister is a Marine, so..."

"Yeah, but Fox-San seemed so _nice_ to us." Chopper sniffled. "She gave us a home and took care of us, even though none of us knew what was going on..."

Emma turned her thoughtful gaze back to the window, just as a fireball came flying at them. "HIT THE DECK!" She shouted, crashing into Usopp and Chopper just as the fireball hit. "_Ribon-Ribon No Shield_!" She added desperately, as the heat seared the fur on their backs, and debris began to fall all around them.

Gold and red ribbons manifested from her back, creating a kite-shaped shield of ribbons bound closely together, which protected them from the falling debris. Once the immediate danger had passed, Emma crawled out of the pile of rubble, followed by Usopp and Chopper.

The battle had continued whilst all of this was happening, and it seemed that nobody noticed the three cats that made their way out of the wreckage and towards a safer place.

* * *

The only one that noticed this was a black-clad figure with pale skin, sitting high up on a nearby building and watching all of this from his vantage-point.

A figure appeared next to him.

"Hello." Twister said, without even having to look at the newcomer. "I didn't expect _you_ to show your faccce, Little Death."

Little Death frowned, and crossed her arms. "I don't get why you help that girl, Mr. Twister - she and those pirates are _evil_."

"That isss a matter of opinion, my dear." Twister replied, still as calm as ever. "I've been worried about you. Do you know that? Do you know how worried that we've _all_ been about you?"

"I don't care." Little Death whispered angrily. Her gaze was fixed on the red cat that was making her way across the grass, a streak of red on green. "I hate her...I hate all pirates..." She vanished without another word.

Twister didn't say anything, though the young goddess' words sent a tiny spike of fear into his chest. These were _not_ Little Death's words...these were not the words of the mischievous and playful little she-devil that had caused all of these problems.

These were the words of that _other_ one...the one that they _all_ feared...

* * *

Emma dashed across the grass, dodging marines and bullets like she had that morning at the shooting range. She was heading towards a black jacket that she knew that Fox had been wearing before the battle started, and that was where her necklace and compass were most likely to be.

She was about two yards away from it, when a hand grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

_Oh no! I'm being picked up!_

Emma turned around slowly, to come face-to-face with none other than Smoker.

She recognized him instantly, and began struggling, knowing that it was futile. She suddenly knew where all of the extra Marines were coming from.

"It's Vice Admiral Smoker!"

"We're saved!"

"Heh, you Straw Hats are dead meat now!"

"I won't hurt you if you just come quietly." Smoker told Emma, speaking around his cigar as usual.

"Yeah?" A voice said from behind him, and he turned to see Ace there, his hand ablaze with fire. "Guess what? I won't hurt _you_ if you let my girlfriend go _now_."

Smoker regarded Ace with the same stoic expression he usually had. In one hand he held Emma and, with the other, he started to create more smoke around him. "A battle between us would be as pointless as it was months ago in Arabasta but, I suppose, I have no choice." He raised his hand. "_Howai__t_..." He began but, just then, a stray bullet came flying at him, scraping along the knuckles of the hand that was holding Emma. Normally, it wouldn't have done anything - except that it was sea stone._  
_

_Sugar?_ Ace wondered, in shock, as Smoker grabbed his hand, letting Emma go in the process.

She hit the ground running, disappearing into the sea of legs again.

Ace smirked, and set his other hand ablaze as well. "Oh, and guess what? I'm also a chronic liar." He leapt at Smoker, who immediately reactivated his powers.

* * *

_Gotta get the the compass! Gotta get the compass! Gotta get the compass!_ Emma thought, as she ran, and the jacket loomed up ahead of her. _Yes_! She dived into the jacket head-first, digging around within its folds until she found what she was looking for. She managed to slip the necklace on over her head, before her paw touched the surface of the compass.

Those that saw the jacket saw the pinkish-red light emit from it, and expand all the way out to reach Usopp and Chopper, who suddenly found themselves back to being a human and a reindeer, respectively.

They stood up, looking surprised, and suddenly a red fox was at their sides.

"Fox-San!" Chopper cried.

"Hurry, you two, you need to get out of here!" Fox said, her voice coming out in a low throaty growl.

"Why should we trust you?" Usopp wanted to know.

Fox glared at him. "Who just took care of you for the past week?!" She snapped, accentuating this with a snap of her jaws.

"Yeah, but we just saw you _transform_, and attack our _friends_." Usopp pointed out.

"If I'd _wanted_ to kill your Captain, then he'd be dead by now." Fox told them impatiently. "I'm a former Marine, after all - I disliked pirates, right up until a red-haired Captain saved my life. I owe my life to him, and that kid with the straw hat reminds me of him! It was then that I decided to lay low."

"By becoming a director of world-famous plays?" Usopp asked dryly.

Fox didn't grace that with an answer, and instead let out a soft, yet loud, howl-like bark.

A few moments later, Sugar appeared from within the smoke and the crowd, dragging Nami and Luffy by their hands.

"Usopp! Chopper!" Luffy cried, when he noticed them.

Sugar nearly pushed him into the bushes along with Nami. "Fox-Neesama will take care of you!" She promised.

"Sugar, give me that gun." Fox snapped, transforming back into a human and holding out her hand.

Sugar pouted, but handed over the pistol, just as Law appeared, holding Emma in his arms.

"Sugar!" Emma cried. "Did you really shoot Smoker with a sea-stone bullet?!"

Sugar nodded, looking around. "Where are those other two?" She wanted to know.

Emma looked back out, noticing that Ace and Zoro were still fighting. Ace was taking on Smoker by himself, their powers expanding and growing in strength. Zoro and Tashigi were still crossing blades - Tashigi was _strong_, but Zoro was, too.

"What are we going to do, Luffy?" Nami asked him.

Luffy hesitated, and then glanced at Fox, as if asking her if they could trust her or not.

"Just give it a few more seconds." Fox muttered, and then a massive explosion of smoke and flames was caused by the powers of Ace and Smoker. "Now!"

Luffy stretched out his hands, grabbing onto both Ace and Zoro, and dragging them back.

"Luffy, what the...?!"

"Zoro, time to go-lo!" Luffy said, in a sing-song voice, as he and the others started running. "Don't worry." The Captain added, more seriously now. "We won't be making a habit of this."

"Good." Zoro replied, sheathing his swords and untying his bandanna before retying it around his left arm, even as he ran.

Fox, who had Sugar clinging to her back, led them all further into the city, until they reached a square, where a fountain shaped like a really scary-looking lion-crab-demon thing was.

"You can transport yourselves back to that other world from here!" Fox told them, and all eyes were immediately on Emma, who was lying in Law's arms.

"_What_?!" She asked them all, looking offended. "She overheard me telling Usopp and Chopper about it!" She looked up at the fountain then. "What _is_ that thing?"

"That's a creature from ancient legends." Fox explained, her hybrid ears coming out and one of them flicking back, to listen. "It represents everything and nothing. Now, hurry! The Marines are almost upon us!"

"Right..." Emma nodded, just as they all spotted the black-clad figure that was Twister, coming towards them. Emma jumped out of Law's arms and trotted over to meet him, at the foot of the fountain.

Twister looked down at her...well, at least she _assumed_ that he did, because the black hood covered his entire face. He was holding his sickle out, which she knew would transform her back into a human.

"Emma," Twister told her, in that same, snake-like voice. "You have done well, but you _mussst_ get ssstronger, or elssse you cannot _hope_ to sssuccceed."

"Umm, at what?" Emma questioned, peering up at him. "I mean, I know about finding my Allies and awakening some ancient power, but I..."

"There isss ssstill ssso much that you need to learn, Emma." Twister told her, bringing his scythe down and she felt her body change, and become human once more. "You still have four to find, and one other...you mussst _not_ fail...you mussst get ssstronger to be able to handle coming here asss a human."

Emma nodded. "I...I understand...I think...anything else?"

Twister hesitated, and then raised his hand. "Give me your hand." He said, and Emma did so, feeling confused.

As soon as her hand touched the cool skin of Twister's hand, Emma's world went black, and she heard a voice, one which was familiar and yet foreign, and almost singing:

_Allies united, under friendship's fire,_

_Bring light to evil's vain desire,_

_Alone you fail, but you will be aligned,_

_Under the rule of a Princess you have yet to find,_

_When you find her, you will know,_

_The light that guides you, she will show,_

_A power needed, for the thirteen,_

_To save the worlds, seen and unseen,_

_Then venture forth into the lair,_

_Of monster from an ancient nightmare,_

_Stand together in the darkness' face,_

_Stand united under Grace._

Emma shook her head as her sight came back, and realised that Twister was gone.

Luffy, Ace, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Nami and Law were suddenly by her side.

"Are we going now?!" Nami cried, as the sounds of the Marines could be heard.

"Huh?" Emma shook her head slightly, and then nodded. "Oh, yes, of course! Everybody take my hands!" She instructed, and pretended to ignore the half a second silent battle between Law and Ace, before she just grabbed both of their hands.

"Luffy, wait!" Sugar cried, as they all started to disappear. Sugar sprinted up to them and thrust a piece of paper at Luffy, just as they all vanished.

* * *

When they arrived back on the Moby Dick, two things happened.

One, Nami turned to Luffy and asked him: "Luffy, what did she give you?"

And, Luffy unfolded the piece of paper, and grinned. "Alright! I got Moonbay Fox's autograph!" He held it up and waved it about, and many of the Whitebeard Pirates crowded around.

"There's even a photo!" One of the guys cried. "Se-xy!"

"Yeah!" The men standing there cheered.

Nami rolled her eyes. "Men are _baka_." She mumbled, and many of the women agreed with her.

The other thing that happened, was that Emma immediately began saying: "Paper! I need paper! And a pen! Or a pencil! Quickly!" She was waving her hands about, her eyes unfocused, and she looked frantic.

Marco suddenly appeared, holding a large pad of paper and a black texta (yes, _that_ black texta).

Emma immediately grabbed it, and began writing. Everyone watched her, wondering what she was doing, and then Nami came and stood behind her, and began to read. "Allies united, under friendship's fire, bring light to evil's vain desire...Emma, what _is_ this?"

Emma finished off the last part, and nodded to herself, capping the texta. "It's something I heard, when Twister reached out and touched my hand. We have to fight some ancient evil that's going to destroy the world..."

"Not just our world..." Nami said, narrowing her eyes at the messy hand-writing. "From the _sounds_ of it..._all_ the worlds are in danger. Seen and unseen...it must mean this world and our world...plus, the other dimensions that are out there that we haven't been to." Her lips moved, as she read through the lyrics. "Alone you fail, but you will be aligned, under the rule of a Princess you have yet to find...so, on top of finding four more Allies, we have to find a Princess...when you find her, you will know, the light that guides you, she will show...I think she's the one who can use the ancient power that we're supposed to awaken..."

Emma looked up at her. "You think?"

Nami shrugged. "I'm just saying..." She read the entire verse out to everybody, and Emma joined in - it sounded very strong when they _both_ said it.

Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking about this.

"But, what's this monster that we have to fight?" Usopp wanted to know, looking a little bit pale. He'd just gotten here, and already there was talk of fighting monsters and saving other worlds!

"I just hope it's not that thing from the fountain that Fox told us about." Nami muttered, and she, Usopp and Chopper shivered.

"Hmm..." Emma thought about this, and then noticed that Ace was at her side. "What?"

"Can I talk to you?" He asked her.

"Sure." She grinned, and walked over to the other end of the ship with him.

They didn't know that Luffy, Nami, Sumi, Usopp and Chopper followed them. They peered around the side of a wall, all of them at different levels, and listened.

Ace turned around to face Emma, and stated bluntly: "I know what he did to you."

"What? Who?" Emma asked him, blinking. "Law-San?"

Ace looked away, frowning. "You say his name with so much respect, but after what he did..."

"How did you find out about that?" Emma wanted to know.

"Sumi."

"Ah, Sumi-Chan..." Emma nodded. She looked away as well, and leaned her back against the side of the ship. "Was she worried about me?"

Ace nodded, as well. "Yeah...I was, too...Emiko, I...I don't know how to say this..." He swallowed, a bit nervously. _Come on, Ace!_ He scolded himself. _You took down entire fleets of Marines and Pirates alike! You survived Level Six of Impel Down! You survived a battle at Marineford...because of _her_..._ Ace rubbed the tattoo at the top of his arm, the way he sometimes did when he was nervous, and noticed that Emma was biting on her nails. He came over and took her hands in his, and looked at her. "I meant what I said to Smoker during that battle, but...only if you..."

"If I _want_ to be your girlfriend?" Emma looked pale. "M-me? _Me_?"

"I don't see anybody else standing here."

"But..." Emma blinked, sounding confused. "A-Ace-Chan, I...why _me_?"

"_I_ should be asking the same thing." Ace shook his head. "Emiko, you are one of the, if not _the most_, amazing and incredible person I've _ever_ met. You care about a bunch of people you've only ever read about in comic books, and even though we've made your lives miserable, you still keep on coming back to help us!"

"Miserable?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Ace-Chan...think you _I_ am miserable, when I'm surrounded by people as awesome as you lot are? This is all I've ever _dreamed_ of...to have a group of incredible and amazing friends like you!" _Not that I don't love Krystal and Mayling, but they're not men._ "I'm weak and cause more trouble for you than anything, but you still keep me around! I don't understand why, but I'm just so afraid of losing you!" She looked up at him. "Ace-Chan...you don't know how amazing you really are..." She was still pale, but a very faint blush was at her cheeks. Ace liked that blush - it made her bruise look less blue and, more importantly, it made her look adorable.

Yes, Ace had decided it. Emma was adorable. And, her devotion to _him_ was adorable...

"You...you think that I'm amazing?" Ace questioned.

Emma nodded, smiling. "Yes...you're strong, caring towards your little brother, funny, confident, handsome..." She blushed even more now.

Ace smirked, and leaned down to her. "Handsome, huh? Am I...the _most_ handsome?"

She swallowed. "Y-yes?"

His face was right up close to hers. His eyes were on fire...hers were bright. "Then...shouldn't I have the most beautiful girl?"

"Sure, I'll go and get her."

Ace chuckled softly. "Emiko...was what happened yesterday your first kiss?"

"...Yes..."

"Then, I hope that this makes up for it, okay?"

"... ... ... Okay."

He closed the space between them, pressing his warm lips against her slightly shaking ones. At once, a thrill of excitement coursed through him, coupled with the fact that her body was touching his. Ace let go of her hands, and ran his hands up her arms, snaking them around her back and resting them on her waist.

Her hands were shaking, but she reached up, looping her arms around his neck.

Ace's kiss was different from Law's. It took her awhile to figure it out. It wasn't the cold vs the heat. It wasn't the scent of medical disinfectant vs the scent of ash (considering that they just been in a battle).

It was because she'd okayed it.

Law had just taken it.

Ace had asked.

Emma liked that, and she liked Ace...no, wait...she _loved_ Ace...she'd said so herself. She wanted to know everything about him...she wasn't sure how or why it had happened so soon, but...it had.

Emma and Ace drew apart, with Ace grinning and Emma smiling in a shy way, ducking her head in embarrassment.

She happened to glance at her left wrist, not at her Baby Den-Den Mushi or at her golden sister ID bracelet, but at her watch.

It was six-fifteen.

"Oh, shite!" Emma gasped. "I'm late!" She looked up at Ace, panicked. "My Mum's gonna _kill_ me! I'd better go!" She reached up to touch her necklace, and then added: "Oh! Ace-Chan! I wanted to ask you, even before...umm...that..." Ace smiled, and waited. "Tomorrow night, my cousin's having a party." Ace's eyes lit up. "It's her twenty-third...did you...maybe...wanna come?"

"Will there be alcohol?"

Emma had to laugh. "Of _course_ there will be, it's a Mexican Fiesta Party!"

"What does that mean?" Ace wanted to know.

"It means tequila, with agave worms and scorpion exo-skeletons." Emma explained.

"Sounds good." Ace nodded, and then kissed her forehead. "I'll be there."

"Great," Emma blushed. "I'll come and get you tomorrow night and say that you got dropped off by friends. This'll be perfect - you can meet my cousin before you meet my Mum!"

Ace smiled. "See you tomorrow then, Emiko."

"Bye, Ace-Chan." Emma said, and took a step back. Ace resisted the urge to reach out and grab her, as she said: "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_." She vanished in a flurry of ribbons.

At that point, Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Sumi fell out of hiding, and Ace jumped, turning around in shock.

Luffy was laughing. "_Shishishishi_! Ace has a girlfriend! Ace has a girlfriend!"

"They were _kissing_!" Chopper added gleefully.

"I didn't expect that!" Usopp admitted.

"Well done, Ace-Kun!" Sumi cheered, and she and Nami exchanged a high-five.

Ace looked shocked. "You were...you all _saw_ that?! _Heard_ that?!" They all nodded. His face darkened, but he smiled all the same, and set his hands on fire. "Okay, time to play my new favourite game - Burn The Straw Hat Pirates To Crisps...you too, Sumi." He added.

They all gasped, and took off running in separate directions.

Ace gave chase.

Luffy was happy, however, despite being faced with being torched by his older brother. "Ace loves Emmy! Ace loves Emmy!" He declared, dodging a wave of fire that was directed at him.

* * *

Law stood up in the crows nest, his expression unreadable. His thoughts were racing, however. _This isn't over, Fire-Fist...I'm not letting you win this one..._

* * *

Georgia Brown looked nervous, as she sat at the police station.

Bradley Cates sat down across the desk from her, and regarded her kindly. "Okay, Georgia - what is it?"

"I think...I think I have some information..." Georgia began, wondering why she was feeling so nervous. "About...Carmilla..."

Bradley leaned forwards, suddenly looking interested. "What?"

"Well..." Georgia said, shifting uncomfortably. "It's..."

Just then, a man came in, holding a sealed bag. "Officer Cates, the fingerprints you requested have been confirmed." He said, handing the sealed bag to Bradley, before walking back out again.

"Those are Emma Pax's fingerprints, aren't they?" Georgia said suddenly.

Bradley looked up at her, before glancing back at the bag. Without even opening it, he leaned forwards and said: "Why don't you tell me what you know, Georgia?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. I drew everyone as cats! **

** fav . me / d61l4lo**

**(This was meant to go in the last Author's Notes, but I forgot.)...**

* * *

**. Thanks to elevnarchress for writing this s/6315703/1/Second-Division-Prohibitions and giving me the ideas for Ace and Luffy waging war on the kitchens and Sumi jumping down from the crows nest and landing on top of Ace.**

**. Usopp. flowerstar5 . webs blackeye . jpg**

**. OMG, her second surprise kiss in two days! Yay!**

* * *

_qwaszxedc9 - I hope this chapter was Ace-ChanxEmiko enough for you! And, yes, Law _is_ too forceful, but he's also about to get _really_ jealous! Thanks for your review!_

_Mugiwara Otome - this chapter had some AcexEmma. ^^ Thanks for reviewing!_

_MusicOfMadness - don't worry, it'll get better for Emma. ^^_

_WindWhistle21 - Garp would be the coolest Grandpa EVER! ^^ Thank you for liking my writing. Hmm, LawxEmma...you'll have to wait for that..._

_Cocoa Liddell - yes, Emma _did_ say that she loved Ace, and she meant it! ^^ Ace's reaction about Law kissing Emma isn't finished yet, by the way..._

_MsWildLuck - I've kept on writing, so keep the crazy (beautiful) snake-lady away from me! You vote Law? ^^ You'll have to be patient._

_KaiF . Raphaella - because cliffies make the world go around! XD Thanks for the review!_

_AiSoraix3 - Thank you! I'm glad that you love my story! :)_

_KatieTheDragonRider - ooh, don't worry, I've got an idea. I just wanted to know everybody's opinions...it's _all_ good. ^_^_

_Reader - I agree, they're very cute together. Thanks for reviewing._

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - yup, it was Usopp! ^^ Heh, AceAceAce not Law... *tries to resist being controlled by you*_


	14. First Point Of Contact

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

First Point Of Contact

* * *

_"I haven't seen your little friend around in awhile." Carmilla said, walking down the halls of G-5._

_"Hn." Sakazuki replied._

_"She comes and goes as she pleases then?" Carmilla guessed._

_Sakazuki nodded shortly. "It seems so." He gave her a sidelong glance. "And you? Will you be returning to your own world, if a method of getting you back is discovered?"_

_Carmilla replied: "Yes. I have work to do back there, and so do my fellow police officers."_

_"You seem to be handling this remarkably well."_

_Carmilla didn't respond to that, and instead just stared straight ahead. They continued walking until they reached that same T-Junction in the corridor that Emma had transported herself and Law at._

_Carmilla stopped, and so did Sakazuki._

_"People who break the law _shouldn't_ be granted the choice of freedom." Carmilla said quietly, not looking at Sakazuki. "I learned that the hard way, back in my own world, and I'll do _anything_ to put them _all_ behind bars, even if it costs me my life. I made a vow, and I _won't_ be going back on it." She looked up at the older man. "You understand why I have to go back?"_

_He nodded shortly, just as a Marine came sprinting up to them. "Admiral Sakazuki, sir!" He saluted quickly, and Sakazuki returned the salute. "Urgent news from the East Blue - the Straw Hat Pirates were spotted on Mirrorball Island yesterday! Our sources were confirmed by Captain Tashigi!"_

_Sakazuki fixed the man with a hard glare. "Anything else?"_

_The Marine gulped, and nodded. "Y-yes, sir! Our sources have _also_ confirmed that they were sighted last week by Captain Nezumi in the Conomi Islands, and Captain Tashigi also stated that she ran into them in Logue Town a few days prior to that!"_

_Sakazuki's glare hardened some more (if that was even possible) and he said: "Slow down - you sound like a hyperventilating hyena." He had no patience for people like this, but he was going to _try_ and not kill this one._

_As the man took a few deep breaths, Carmilla stepped forward. "Soldier," she addressed him, unsure of how else to do so. He looked at her, and blushed slightly - Carmilla was very beautiful. "Were there any reports of strange cats that could be linked to the appearances of the Straw Hats on these islands?"_

_The man glanced at Sakazuki, and then back at Carmilla, and nodded slowly. "Yes...yes, there was, in fact, Ma'am. In Logue Town, witnesses reported seeing two cats, one red one and one green one, in the same vicinity as the pirates."_

_"What happened to them?" Carmilla pressed._

_"Well," the man seemed to be talking a lot more clearly under Carmilla's cold gaze, as opposed to Sakazuki's much harsher one. "The red cat was seen with them again in Cocoyashi Village - Captain Nezumi stated the the Straw Hats bombarded the Marine's ship to get that red cat back. The green cat was gone, though - there was a green-haired swordsman with them, though."_

_"Roronoa Zoro..." Sakazuki muttered. "Straw Hat's first-mate..."_

_Carmilla nodded, and looked back at the other Marine. "What else?"_

_"Well, there was an orange tabby cat wearing a gold ring around its neck," the man said. "But, later, the cat was gone, and a young woman with orange hair was with them. The Straw Hats called her 'Nami'."_

_"Their navigator..." Sakazuki nodded. "And, on Mirrorball?"_

_"Two cats. One was a brown-patched orange tabby, and the other was small and brown and had, uh...antlers and a blue nose...?" The man stammered._

_This information did not surprise Sakazuki in the least, and he dismissed the man before turning to Carmilla. "They're gathering their Allies, as Little Death predicted. If what we've just heard is true, then they'll be going after the next four Allies as well. A worst case scenario would be that it's the _rest_ of Straw Hat's crew - there are four of them left, after all."_

_Carmilla nodded in agreement, unsure as to why she was suddenly being involved in all of this, when all she wanted to do was go home but, for some odd reason, as soon as she'd been put on the case of investigating a girl bringing cats onto a train, she'd suddenly been thrown head-first into a brand new world - literally. A world where pirates still terrorised the seas, and people had strange abilities called 'Devil Fruit Powers'._

_Carmilla looked up at Sakazuki (why was he so tall?) and said: "It would be in your Government's best interests to station more Marines on the islands in the East Blue...that's my opinion." She shrugged._

_Sakazuki regarded her for a moment, before nodding. "You and I are like-minded." He told her, much to her surprise._

_He then turned, without another word, and walked away, and Carmilla walked away in the opposite direction._

* * *

Emma awoke with a start, wondering what was happening and why her face was wet - until she realised that it was her Father, standing over her with the squirtie bottle and spraying cold water onto her face in order to wake her up.

"Augh! Okay, alright already, I'm up, I'm up!" Emma complained, scrambling out of bed and trying to shield herself from the water droplets and from the bright light of her ceiling light (which had been replaced by her Father the day before).

"Hurry up!" Bruce snapped. "You have to go shopping with Mum for Ashlee's birthday present, and your phone!"

"Oh...okay then..." Emma blinked, pushing the wet hair out of her eyes. Her face didn't hurt as much as it had the day before...maybe the bruising had gone down?

She checked, and...it had!

* * *

Emma got dressed, putting on her usual black - black stockings, a short black pleated skirt, a black t-shirt with the purple words 'Toughen Up, Princess' (something her Dad often said to her) and a black jumper with sleeves long enough to hide the Baby Den-Den Mushi that was snoozing on her wrist - it certainly seemed to sleep a lot. She wondered when it would grow up...maybe she should asked Sumi. After all, she wouldn't be able to wear it as a wrist-watch much longer.

She ran a brush through her hair four times only, and tied it up in a messy ponytail, before checking to make sure that she was all in one piece - Baby Den-Den Mushi (check), compass (check), heart necklace (check), ID bracelet (check)...yup, she was all set.

Emma grabbed her black ankle boots and shoulder bag, and walked out of her room. She walked into the living room, where Bruce was watching the horse-racing on TV, and Lee was checking Face-Book (not only did Lee have Face-Book, but she had more Friends than Emma, too).

When Emma came in, Lee glanced up and looked over her shoulder. "Go and change." She said immediately.

Emma stopped in mid-stride, and turned to face her Mother. "What _for_?"

"Your stockings have holes in them, and that jumper needs a wash." Lee stated, and Emma stomped angrily back up to her room, cursing because, of course, she couldn't go and _buy_ any new stockings, due to having no money.

She changed into a pair of black jeans and her black long-sleeved turtleneck, before returning to the kitchen - she _needed_ her coffee!

"It's going to be thirty- five today." Lee said, barely looking up from Candy Crush Saga (the most addictive game on Face-Book since Jungle Gems!). "Go and change."

"Mum, for God's sake!"

"Look, do you want to get Ashlee her present or _not_?!" Lee snapped, and Emma sighed, and returned to her room, putting on her black dress that buttoned all the way up the front. She put on her gladiator sandals (black, and with no heels, of course) and then, with a sad smile, put the Baby Den-Den Mushi into her bag. It didn't seem to mind, and just continued to snooze away, as Emma went back out into the kitchen and _finally_ made her coffee.

But, Lee wasn't finished just yet. Standing up, she said: "Go and do your hair, it looks disgusting."

"But Mum..."

"_Now_!" Lee snapped, and Emma sighed, and went up to the vanity area, where she brushed her hair to within in inch of tis life, or so she thought.

Upon re-entering the kitchen, Lee was waiting for her with a brush in her hand, and proceeded to brush her daughter's hair.

"Mum, I can do it myself!" Emma complained.

"Then why didn't you?" Lee just shook her head, and brushed the non-existant knots out of her daughter's hair.

Well, there was actually a _few_ knots left, and Emma yelped when the brush tugged at her hair - maybe she wasn't feeling quite as un-sore as she _thought_ she was. "Ow, Mum, stop it!"

Bruce, sitting on the couch, mimicked his daughter's high, squeaky voice, and then scolded her for sounding like a spaz.

Tears stung the backs of Emma's eyes, but she did her best to keep them hidden, as her Mother _finally_ finished with her hair, and Emma told her that she'd go out an wait in the car.

Sitting in Lee's black Hyundai, Emma plugged the USB drive into the port, and flicked to the song _I Hate You_ by 2NE1, knowing that she would have to change the song if her Mother came out, since Lee only liked listening to things in English (she'd _hated_ the _Gangam Style_ craze) and, even then, certain things (like Disturbed) were debatable.

Emma leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes, and recalling her dream. She needed to talk to the others about what she'd heard - their other Allies were in danger. Thinking about it now...hadn't Sakazuki said that it was possible that the other four Allies were Luffy's remaining four crew-mates?

That meant that...it was Sanji, Franky, Brook and Robin!

That made perfect sense to Emma, who suddenly opened her eyes and smiled. She couldn't _wait_ to meet them - flirtatious but kind-hearted Sanji, loud and rock-star-like Franky, the perverted but jolly living-skeleton Brook, and the beautiful and calm Robin...

But...if what Sakazuki and Carmilla had been talking about was _true_, then Marine forces would be stationed at every other island in the East Blue and, if that was indeed where the other Allies were, then...the Allies might be in danger, and finding them would be even _harder_.

_Dammit!_ Emma thought, as her Mum came out to the car. _Why can't we ever just do things_ without_ drawing attention to ourselves_?!

She had a sudden vision of Luffy at G-8, walking behind that Marine all ninja-like and cool, and she choked back her laughter.

Lee gave her daughter an odd look, but didn't question this, and just instructed her to change the song or else the radio was going off.

Emma did so, putting on _Shut Up_, by Simple Plan.

* * *

Emma stormed angrily through the shops, trying not to look as if she was ready to kill somebody, or a lot of somebodies.

She was _annoyed_ - Lee had knocked back _every_ single suggestion that Emma had made for a present, until finally just getting fed up with her daughter and telling her to go and find something else, and then call her - they'd gotten her a SIM card first, and Emma had put it into the pink phone she'd gotten in Kuala Lumpur two years ago. She wouldn't let Emma have her card, _or_ her money.

Now, Emma found herself treading that same path she had walked the other week, back over to where that crazy lady's shop had been.

Imagine her surprise when she saw that she shop was set up _again_, as if nothing had happened!

Emma gasped, and quickened her pace, catching sight of the blue-eyed Asian lady, and not wanting her to disappear again, she fairly ran up to her.

"It's you!" Emma cried, when she'd reached the store, which people seemed to be ignoring. Now, Emma wondered if it might be in another dimension or something, and only she could see it.

The lady looked up at her, and smiled. "Hello again, Emma. How you been?"

"Oh, I wonder," Emma said sarcastically. "Let's see...oh, right! I got transported to another world, which happens nearly _every_ time I fall asleep now! Umm, what else...oh, a bunch of cats appeared in my room that turned out to be really handsome pirates, and now I have to find a Princess and her Allies, whatever _that_ means! And that weird fruit you gave me gave me the powers to do _this_!" She held her hand out, and a red ribbon wrapped around it, Sailor Moon-style.

The lady looked at her strangely for a second, and then held out a box: "You buy present for cousin?"

Emma blinked. "Why, yes, actually, that's what I...hey, don't change the subject!" She cried. "Who _are_ you?!"_  
_

The lady with the blue eyes regarded her for a moment, and then nodded. "I tell you, because you need know...I not from this world."

"Are you from the same world as Twister?" Emma wanted to know.

"Yes, I am. I come from world that is not world - is more like realm, for those that not die." The blue-eyed lady told her.

"You mean...you're an _immortal_?" Emma was stunned.

"Mmhmm." The blue-eyed lady nodded again, and walked out from behind the counter. She fixed Emma with a steely gaze, but it was gentle all the same. It reminded Emma of her Nanna. "Emma, you have greater purpose than you think. You need find other Allies, and hurry."

"And the Princess too." Emma pointed out. "Let's not forget about her."

The lady nodded sagely. "Yes. Princess will work together with Lower Noble to unite Allies to defeat great evil."

"Wait, there's a Lower Noble, too?" Emma blinked. "Or, is the First Knight one of the Allies? What's a lower Noble?" _too much information!_

"Lower Noble is Ally." The blue-eyed lady told Emma. "Is sometimes called Knight or Dame in your world. Is considered class of Lower Nobility."

"Oh, well that makes sense...sort of..." Emma thought about this, and a sudden thought struck her. _Hey, wait...what if _I'm_ the Lower Noble?!_ She dismissed the thought immediately. _It's probably Luffy seeing as how he's the main character, or it could even be Ace, since he's the Pirate King's son (Pirate Prince?)._

The blue-eyed lady was speaking again. "You not need to know where to look, yet. Compass will show you way." She tapped the smooth surface of the compass, which sparkled at her touch. "Find Allies first, then find rest. No need hurry."

"But you just said that..."

"Here." The lady handed the box to Emma. "Take for cousin."

Emma looked suspiciously at the box. "It's not going to transport her to a world of giant, flesh-eating spiders, is it?"

"No, is just normal necklace." The lady promised her.

"Oh, well good, because Ash hates spiders..." Emma tucked the box into her bag, planning on telling her Mother that she'd bought it for herself a few weeks ago, but had decided to give it to Ashlee since she couldn't find anything here. As the blue-eyed lady and her shop began to vanish, Emma suddenly asked her "Wait - what's your name?!"

"Faith."

* * *

At home, Emma went down to her room, set down her bag, and took the box out of it, wanting to check it before she showed it to her Mother, but Lee was already on her way down to Emma's room, and so Emma had no choice but to show Lee the necklace without looking at it first.

_Wow, that is...the most beautiful thing I have _ever_ seen, and that includes_ my_ necklace and compass!_ Emma stared at the beautiful glass flower necklace. It was silver with dark blue stones that matched the rings that Ashlee wore on her hands. It was _absolutely_ stunning...

"It looks cheap."

Emma nearly dropped the box at Lee's blunt statement, and looked up at her in shock. "Well..._I_ don't think so..."

Lee put her hands on her hips. "I wish you'd told me about this, so I could have talked you out of buying it. How much did it cost you?" She wanted to know.

"Umm...enough..." Emma mumbled. _Quick, make something up! like what?! How much would a necklace like this usually cost?!_

"_How_ much?"

"...Thirty-five dollars?"

"You spent _thirty-five dollars_ in _this_?" Lee asked her in disbelief, and then sighed. "Well, it's your money." She stated, and turned and walked out of the room.

"You mean it _was_ my money." Emma mumbled, but Lee heard her.

The blonde-haired woman turned around, and raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" She asked her.

"Nothing." Emma muttered, turning away and gazing at her Luffy doll for comfort.

Lee followed her gaze. "When did you get that?" She asked her.

"A while ago." Emma lied.

"Then why is the price-tag still on it?" Lee demanded to know.

"Because I like leaving the tags on!" Emma snapped, rolling her eyes. "Now, can you _please_ get out of my room so that I can get changed?"

"No, not until you tell me what's _wrong_ with you lately!" Lee retorted.

"Nothing is _wrong_, except that you keep treating me like a little kid!" Emma told her.

"If you're going to act like a kid and keep being stuffed animals and comic books, then I'll keep treating you like a little kid!" Lee informed her. "How do you _ever_ expect to get anywhere in life, when you look like _that_," she gestured to her daughter's hair and lack of make-up. "And your room looks like _this_?" She swept a hand around to the clutter on the shelves and bookcase. It was a mixture of anime, manga, video games, her Nanna's old perfumes, enough earrings to pierce an elephant's ears all along the edges with, paper, drawings and stuffed animals. "What would a boy think if you brought him home to _this_? Then again, with the way you look now, no boy would ever even _look_ at you!"

Emma swallowed, and tried not to show how much her Mother's words hurt but, in truth, she was so used to it that it just made her go numb. "Mum, I..."

"And, if you _keep_ arguing with me, then you won't be going to Ashlee's tonight." Lee crossed her arms. "You'll have to call her and tell her you can't make it, like Sarah."

Emma's head snapped up. "Nee-San's not coming?" She questioned.

Lee shook her head in disapproval. "No, she and Ben are taking Narmu and Corey out."

"Uh, that's _Ngarimu_, Mum." Emma pointed out.

"Whatever." Lee rolled her eyes. "I may not approve of your sister's new partner, but at least she's _out_ there. If you had a job..." She turned and left the room, muttering to herself. "Why could I get _good_ daughters?" She wondered.

Emma sunk to her knees on the floor, clutching the box in both hands. "Well, Mum, I'm sorry for not being Ashlee..." She mumbled.

* * *

Later that evening, Lee and Bruce both dropped Emma off at her cousin's house.

Lee came in with Emma, to see Ashlee, since she hadn't seen her since just after Christmas.

Emma was wearing her new mauve poncho, over a black top and a pair of black jeans and black ankle boots. Hidden by the poncho were her necklace, compass and Baby Den-Den Mushi.

Ashlee herself answered the door, accompanied by the family's old Cocker Spaniel, Henry, who barked and growled in a very (un)savage way.

"Come in!" Ashlee smiled, letting them both in as she held Henry back. When she let him go, he barked once more, before scampering off.

"Happy birthday, sweetie." Lee said, handing Ashlee the present she had gotten her that day.

"Thank you!" Ashlee smiled. She was a couple of inches taller than Emma, with a darker shade of red hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a stripey, Mexican-style top over a pair of tight-fitting blue jeans. Her blue nail polish matched her eyes _and_ the rings she wore. She turned to Emma. "Hello, Missy." She grinned.

"Hello." Emma replied, handing Ashlee the present. "Happy birthday - pensioner." She added.

Ashlee laughed, and nudged Emma playfully. "Oh, I am _not_ that old and you know it! Anyway, you'll be catching up with me soon!"

_That's right._ Emma realised, as she turned around to say goodbye to her Mother. _This year is _my_ twenty-third birthday as well...wow..._

"Have fun." Lee smiled at Emma, genuinely. "Don't drink too much." She added, referring to the bottle of red wine that she'd caved in and allowed her daughter to buy.

Emma laughed. "Don't worry Mum, I won't. See ya!" She and Ashlee both waved as Lee walked back out the front, and then Ashlee closed the door. Emma grabbed Ashlee's wrist (where a silver bracelet with a heart-shaped locket dangled). "Ash, wait...umm, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" Ashlee was still smiling. It was hard to believe, but the two girls hadn't really gotten along when they were younger. As kids, Ashlee had been a bossy older sister, and Emma had been a precocious younger sister. As teenagers, Ashlee had been (self-admitedly) a bitch, and Emma had been a shy and insecure mouse. However, it had been revealed that Ashlee's boyfriend had been abusing her, and she'd been struggling at school. Now, she had a new and devoted partner, as well as a University degree and her whole career planned. She was a whole new person!

Emma, meanwhile, was...well, still in Limbo...

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "Umm, well...I kind of...I have this _friend_..." She stressed, even though she wasn't really sure _what_ to call Ace just yet. "Who I...umm...kind of..._invited_ to come tonight without telling you...is that...okay?"

"Huh?" Ashlee looked surprised. "Oh, yeah, sure, that's fine!" She nodded, as she led Emma towards the kitchen. "What time's she getting here? She...? He...?"

"He." Emma verified, and watched as her cousin's eyes lit up. "His name's Ace, and, well...you're, kind of...the first person in the family that he's going to meet...I haven't introduced him to Mum and Dad yet." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to kick herself. Why did she say it like that? It made it sound as if he were her boyfriend, which he _wasn't_...was he?

Ashlee looked positively _gleeful_. "Yeah, no, that's not a problem at all." She said.

"Yeah, no?"

Ashlee grinned. "Never mind. Come on. Oh, and just a word of warning - everyone's a bit...boisterous."

"How many girls are here?"

"Just you and me - the others haven't shown up yet." Ashlee responded.

Emma nodded, as they walked into the kitchen to the greeting of: "_¡hola_!"

Emma and Ashlee exchanged a grin.

"Guys, you remember my cousin Emma, right?"

"_Si_!"

Ashlee rolled her eyes.

Emma counted four boys in the kitchen, and another three outside. She recognized Ashlee's younger brother Mitchell (who was the same age as Ace, ironically) and a few other people from last year's party. She looked around her. "Hey, where's Peter?"

A boy in a Mexican wrestling mask suddenly jumped out of nowhere, making them all jump.

Ashlee started laughing. "Peter, that thing is _insane_!" She teased him.

"It's also cutting off my circulation." Peter admitted.

"Quick, take it off!" Somebody said, and a few guys attempted to release Peter from the trap that was the mask.

"Whew." He said, running a hand through his wavy brown hair. "I'm glad that's over."

Ashlee was busy opening her presents. When she opened the one from Emma, she exclaimed happily: "Oh wow, I _love_ it!" She hugged her cousin. "Thanks, Emma! Look, Peter, sapphires!" She held up the necklace, which glittered in the overhead lights.

"Wow." Peter acknowledged the gift with a smile, before turning back to one of his mates. "Oh, wow, Davo, you brought a keg of whisky?!"

"No, I brought _two_." Davo grinned.

"Marry me!" Peter declared, as the boys started laughing.

Ashlee rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Wish he'd say that to me." She took Emma's hand. "Come on, want a drink?"

"Sure. Where do you keep your wine glasses?" Emma asked, taking the bottle of Cabernet-Sauvignon out of her bag.

Ashlee laughed. "Emma, you are _so_ dignified!"

"I know."

* * *

Ace stood on the deck of the Moby Dick, leaning against the mast. He'd fallen asleep twice, but now he was wide awake, courtesy of a well-aimed bucket of water thrown by Sumi, which would _not_ have been appreciated by a _normal_ person on a slightly chilly night. She was standing there with him, smiling as she held a very large Den-Den Mushi in her arms.

"Three." Sumi said suddenly, and Ace gave her a strange look. "Two. One."

_Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da_. _Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da_.

Sumi grinned, and answered the call. "_Moshi-Moshi_, Emma-Chan."

"Hiya, Sumi-Chan...how did you know it was me?" Came Emma's voice from the other end of the line.

"Intuition." Sumi replied. "Are you coming to pick up Ace now?"

"Yes. Is he ready to go?"

"I'm ready." Ace replied, still leaning against the mast.

"Okay then, I'll be there soon." Emma promised, and hung up.

So did Sumi, and she began to smile again. "Three. Two. One."

As Emma appeared in a flash of ribbons, Ace asked Sumi: "Why do you feel the need to do that?"

"It's my job, Ace-Kun." She replied, grinning away.

"No, your job is to _not_ be annoying."

"Bit rich coming from you."

"Oh, shut up."

"_You_!"

Emma walked across the deck towards them, saying: "_Konban wa_. Ace-Chan, are you ready to leave now? I had to walk out in the middle of a Mexican Drinking Game, so we'd better hurry back before somebody misses me."

"Mexican Drinking Game?" Ace repeated, his eyes lighting up. "Sounds fun!"

"Yeah, well, we'd better not miss out on _too_ much of it, then." Emma told him.

"Sure." Ace replied, just as Whitebeard came up onto the deck.

"Hi, _Oyaji_." Ace and Sumi said automatically.

"_Konban wa_, Whitebeard-Sama." Emma bowed her head to him.

"_Konban wa_." Whitebeard replied in his gravely voice. "You two are leaving now?" He asked Emma and Ace.

"Yup." They replied in unison.

"Very well." Whitebeard said. "Don't stay out too late."

"We won't, _Oyaji_." Ace replied, smiling. "I'll take care of her." He added, reaching out to take Emma's hand.

She smiled shyly at him.

Whitebeard would never in a million years have said it out-loud, but he was secretly happier than he had been in a long time, seeing Ace happy with a woman. The circumstances that had brought them together _may_ have not _intended_ for the two to fall in love with each other but, looking at them now, Whitebeard thought that Emma and Ace looked good together. They suited each other, and complimented each others perfections and flaws.

And, as they disappeared in a flash of ribbons, Whitebeard had a split-second to look more closely at the two of them and saw, just for that fraction of a second, an older man with black hair and a black beard holding the hand of a woman with strawberry blonde hair.

Whitebeard just shook his head, and smiled.

* * *

Emma and Ace appeared around the corner from the cul-de-sac where Ashlee's parents' house was, and they quickly walked back around.

Emma was giving Ace instructions with every step. "Okay, so _try_ not to say _too_ many things in Japanese...err, you know, don't say '_konban wa_', say 'good evening' or, better yet, say '_buenos noches_'!" She had her hand up with one finger raised, to emphasise her points. "Don't bow, and try to dull down the politeness, and don't use honorifics unless it's with me, and no setting fire to stuff, and _try_ not to get _too_ drunk since you're being introduced to members of my family for the very first time, and..."

Ace stopped her, by putting a finger to her lips. She blushed.

"It'll be fine, Emiko." Ace grinned. "Relax."

She nodded. "Okay, just one last thing." She reached into her bag and, glad that he wasn't wearing his cowboy hat, pulled out a black poncho, which she tugged on over his head. "There. Now you look just like Antonio."

"Antonio?"

"Umm, yeah...we all got to choose Mexican names for tonight." She informed him. "You can be Antonio."

"What's your name?" They had almost reached the fountain at the front of the house.

"I'm Speedy Gonzales, the fastest mouse in all of _Mehico_." She responded, and both of them started laughing as they reached the front door, which was opened up by Ashlee.

_This is it!_ Emma realised. _The moment of truth!_

"Hi!" Ashlee greeted them, smiling, as always.

"Good evening, cousin of Emma's." Ace said politely.

Emma face-palmed.

Ashlee started laughing. "You're just as polite as Emma! No wonder you two met! I'm Ashlee." She suddenly tugged Peter into view. "And this is Peter."

"Hey, mate." Peter held out his hand, which Ace shook. "Wow, your hands are warm."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Ace grinned. "Everyone else is just cold."

Ashlee nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I didn't expect it to be so cold tonight - we were going to go swimming."

Ace and Emma exchanged a glance, and then Emma said: "Oh, well...we couldn't go swimming...anyway..."

"Why not?" Peter asked curiously.

Ashlee nudged him. "_Peter_! It's probably her...umm...time-of-the-month?" She groaned. _Why did I just say that? Stupid jelly-shots..._

Emma smiled. "Nah, not mine." She jerked her thumb over at Ace. "It's his."

The four of them were silent for a second, before they all started laughing.

Ashlee opened the door wider. "Come on in - Xóchitl just got here." She added to Emma, who nodded. She quite liked Mitchell's pretty blonde girlfriend, Xóchitl.

They walked into the kitchen, stopping to get Emma's drink and get one for Ace. They then walked out the back.

"_¡hola_!"

Ace grinned, and raised a hand in greeting.

"Guys, this is Emma's friend, Ace. Okay, Ace," Ashlee began pointing. "This is my baby brother Mitchell,"

"Hey!"

"His girl, Xóchitl. Davo, Justin, Ryan, Phil, Scott..." Ashlee introduced everybody at her party, and then trailed off, realising that she was being stared at. "What?"

"You're supposed to refer to everybody by their _Mexican_ names!" Davo informed her. "Drink, drink, drink!" He ordered her.

Rolling her eyes, Ashlee took a sip of her Midori, and Emma took the opportunity to explain further to Ace: "That's the second part of the drinking game. Just remember: Ryan is Doroteo, Scott is Ignacio, Phil is Pancho, Justin is Toraidio, Davo is Jesus-Ernesto, Peter is Nacho Libre, Mitchell is El Nombre, Xóchitl is Cactus, I'm Speedy Gonzales..."

"Gonzo." Phil corrected her.

"You make it sound like she's a Muppet!" Ashlee scolded, as Emma blushed.

Phil rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever...El Sluto."

As Ashlee gaped at the name that she'd had _no_ say in, and the guys laughed, everyone sat down again, and resumed with naming one Mexican thing each, or taking a drink. They quickly learned that Ace had a habit of just forfeiting his turn, and taking a drink, which a few guys started copying. Ace tried not to appear _too_ fascinated with Ashlee's computer that the guys had commandeered, and was soon surfing You-Tube with the guys, looking up...

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU USING MY COMPUTER FOR?!" Ashlee screamed, coming out with a plate of wimpy nachos and another plate of very very spicy nachos which she set down before grabbing Peter by the ear. "What's going to happen to my Recommended videos at the side of the page?!"

"They're going to be showing 'Busty Blonde Beauties' from now on." Peter said, with a straight face.

"I have to use that page for my students!"

Everyone else was laughing, including Emma. The videos hadn't been _that_ bad - she wouldn't have liked Ace watching them if they were! Ace caught her eye across the table (she was sitting in one corner, and he was leaning over Davo's shoulder to see the computer on the other side of the table), and winked.

Emma blushed brilliantly.

Ace mouthed the words 'you okay?' and Emma nodded. Ace gave her the thumbs up.

Ashlee, who was watching this, smiled, and said: "Hey, Emz, come and help me with the jelly shots."

"Yeah, jelly shots!" Somebody yelled.

"You already had twelve!"

"That was Cactus!"

"No it wasn't, it was Eustace!" Xóchitl defended herself.

"Who's Eustace?"

"Drink, drink, drink!"

"Aww..."

* * *

Emma followed her cousin into the kitchen (bringing her own glass for a refill, of course) and Ashlee turned around, smiling. "So, tell me - how long have you two been going out?"

Emma blushed some more. "Umm, not long...we kind of met by accident, and it just sort of...clicked...?" She glanced out the kitchen window at Ace, just as he looked up at her. She yelped, and ducked down.

Ashlee laughed, and they heard Ace's laughter, as well.

Ashlee knelt down next to her cousin. "You two are good together - I'm _so_ happy that you finally got a boyfriend!"

"Yeah...now I just have to introduce him to my parents...yay..." Emma said, a bit weakly.

Ashlee gave her a hug. "Thanks for trusting me to be the first family member to meet him...I am the first, aren't I?"

Emma looked her in the eye. "I haven't even told my parents he exists."

"Wow..." The doorbell rang just then, and Ashlee stood up, dragging Emma to her feet. "Can you take the jelly shots out while I get that?"

"Sure." Emma nodded, and picked up the tray. When she carried it outside, she was nearly pounced on, and the shots were all gone by the time she sat down.

"Here," Ace handed her one. "I managed to snag you one, Emiko."

"Thanks." She replied, taking it from him. "Why is there black texta all over your face?"

"The guys drew on me when I fell asleep for ten seconds." He replied.

"That'll teach you, you narcoleptic, you." Emma eyed her jelly shot. "Hey, where's my toothpick?"

"Toothpicks are for pansies!" Peter called.

Emma and Ace laughed, and then Ace linked his wrist with Emma's, and they (somehow) managed to drink their jelly shots, laughing.

"I _told_ Ashlee to spray them with cooking oil." Xóchitl rolled her golden-green eyes, just as Ashlee herself came back outside.

"Hey, I _did_, but if I'd put too much on there then they would have tasted like cooking oil!" She protested.

"It still would've been good." Justin remarked.

A tall, blonde-haired girl appeared behind Ashlee.

"_¡hola_!" Everyone called.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Hello." She greeted them.

"Guys, you all know Sara, she works at the newspapers - you know, with me." Ashlee stated (which was a bit unnecessary, since Peter, Mitchell, Xóchitl and Davo all worked there as well, and Emma had up until two years before, but her Dad still did, along with his brother, and Ashlee's Father used to _own_ the company).

"You can be Cacti." Davo told her.

Sara looked at him. "Thanks...I think..."

Ace noticed that Emma was looking uncomfortable all of a sudden, but didn't have a chance to ask her what was wrong, as it was suddenly his turn to name something Mexican - the game appeared to be ongoing.

Ace just took a drink of beer (no surprises there) and everyone turned to Emma.

"_Perra_." She said clearly.

"Which means...?" Scott raised an eyebrow.

"Umm..."

"She's making it up! Drink, drink, drink!"

Ace joined in with the laughter, but noticed that Emma and Sara kept on staring...no, _glaring_ at each other.

* * *

Emma stood in the bathroom, with her wrist held up as she talked to Sumi via the Baby Den-Den Mushi.

"What's that, Sumi-Chan? I can hardly hear you!" Emma fairly yelled (luckily, somebody had turned the music up outside).

"I _said_, can you take care of Ace-Kun tonight?!" Sumi yelled back. There was a lot of noise going on in the background.

"Okay, but why?!"

"Because we're... ... ..."

"You're _what_?!" _She either said that they're plundering the track, or...that they're under attack..._ "Are you under attack?!"

"Yes! Don't worry, Emma-Chan, _Oyaji's_ got it all under control!"

"Who's attacking you?!" Emma demanded to know.

"I think it's... ... ..."

"It's _who_?!"

"The Navy!"

"Mine or yours?!"

"Yours!"

"Do you need our help?!"

"No, we'll be fine, _Oyaji_ told me to tell you to... ... ..."

"To _what_?!"_  
_

"To keep Ace-Kun with you until we call! Okay?!"

"Okay! Take care of yourself and Luffy and the others!"

"Okay!"

They hung up, and Emma stared at her wrist, feeling shocked. She then walked back out, and jumped, seeing a pair of yellow eyes staring at her from the darkness of the living room.

Then, the animal attached to the pair of eyes meowed.

"Oh, it's just you, Tom." Emma breathed, recognizing her cousin's tuxedo cat. She automatically went over to pet him. "Good boy..." He stretched his neck out, relishing in the attention...just like Luffy did in cat-mode. Emma giggled.

She then happened to look up, and her smile faded. Outside, Ace was still sitting at the table, only now Sara was sitting next to him. Emma had noticed before that Sara's top left little to be imagined, and the way she was leaning over Ace would certainly have left _nothing_ for the pirate to imagine...

She only realised that she was gripping onto Tom's ear when he hissed half-heartedly at her, and she immediately apologized. "_Gomen_, _gomen_..." She said, straightening up and leaving the room. She didn't go out the back, however, she went straight to the front door and walked outside, not really sure where she was going, and just stopping on the driveway, staring up at the house next door which, ironically, was her Mum's sister's old house. She'd spent many special occasions of her childhood in that house...it was a large house with polished floors and floor-to-ceiling windows...those had been happier times, before everything had changed...

"Emiko?" Ace said from behind her, and Emma half-turned, to see him standing on the front porch.

"Oh, umm, Ace-Chan...what are you doing out here?" She asked, embarrassed to be seen spacing out - again!

"I saw you go this way and decided to follow." Ace replied, eyeing her. "I finally managed to pry that other girl off of me." He added casually, hoping to see a reaction. He needed to get this sorted out.

"Oh, yeah, well, she's like that." Emma shrugged nonchalantly. "At least you didn't have to resort to a crow-bar."

"You seem to know a bit about her." Ace pointed out.

Emma sighed. "Yeah...we went to high-school together. She's actually one year younger than me, so she's two years older than you."

"Ah, I see." Ace nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yeah...we used to be friends, but then she ditched me." Emma shrugged. "It's no big deal."

Ace nodded silently. He tried to wipe the texta off his face, and only succeeded in smearing it.

Emma laughed gently. "Here," she said, dipping her hand in the nearby fountain, and washing off the texta, pressing hard against his face to get rid of the black marks, since it was one of those 'permanent' art-liner things. "Just be thankful Nami and I didn't use one of these things the other day." She added, using his poncho to get rid of the last black streak.

"That was _you_?" Ace gaped at her. "I was wondering who played connect the dots with my freckles!" He wiped the water off his face with his poncho, which he had taken off, to reveal that well-toned body of his. "At least you didn't wash it off my face like you did just then - that _hurt_!"

Emma grinned, and looked up at him. "Be thankful I didn't use my spit, or whatever it is that Mums do."

"Well, I never knew mine, so I wouldn't know." Ace shrugged, and then he grinned devilishly. "Though, if _you_ did it..."

Emma blushed. "Is that a hint?"

"Maybe." Ace leaned down, and kissed her gently, making her head swim and her heart beat faster.

_My second kiss...well, third, but my second one from Ace-Chan! I'm so happy!_

That reminded Emma, and she drew back suddenly. "Ace-Chan, there's something that I need to tell you." He noticed her expression, and stood back, waiting. "Sumi-Chan called me. Now, don't freak out, but...the ship's under attack."

"What?!" Ace cried, looking horrified. "By who?! What happened?!"

Emma held up her hands. "Look, I don't know the details, okay? Sumi-Chan just said that your old man's got everything under control, and not to worry - the Navy from _this_ world isn't as strong as the Marines from _your_ world, Ace-Chan." She tentatively reached up, and touched the side of his face. "Okay? Trust Whitebeard-Sama, okay?"

Ace looked a little bit more relaxed, but still sounded stressed as he asked: "What about Luffy?"

"Your brother will be fine." Emma replied firmly. "He survived six levels of Impel Down's Hell before executing a mass break-out from said jail, fighting Rob Lucci at Enies Lobby, fighting Admiral Aokiji, the Aqua Laguna tidal wave, the challenges at Skypiea, nearly getting his head chopped off in Logue Town and fighting the likes of Crocodile, Arlong and Kuro - he'll be fine. The people in this world don't have Devil Fruit powers or sea-stone, and more than half of the pirates onboard the Moby Dick can use Haki, not to mention all those Devil Fruit users. Plus, Luffy's got part of his crew with him, and they will _not_ let him drown, okay?"

Ace nodded, looking at her with a serious expression. "How is it...that you manage to calm me down before I've even gotten upset?"

Emma blinked in surprise, and then looked down. "I dunno...I guess I just have a lot of faith in you guys. I believe you can do it. The World Government in your world _won't_ win, and we'll get through whatever _my_ Government throws at you, okay? As my Nanna used to say, 'we'll take it one day at a time'."

Ace smiled, and hugged her tightly. "Okay." He whispered in her ear: "I trust your judgement."

"Don't trust me." She responded. "Trust your family."

"You _are_ my family." He replied, just as she accidentally leaned against her compass, and suddenly found herself holding Ace as a cat._  
_

They looked at each other for a moment, before laughing.

* * *

When Emma came back in, she was holding the black cat in his poncho protectively in her arms, and found her cousins, saying: "I just rang Mum to come and pick me up, okay?"

"Okay." Mitchell replied. "Where's...?"

"He had to go home." Emma explained, noticing that Ashlee was staring at her strangely. "His friends picked him up." She added. "It was an emergency."

Ashlee nodded. "Right, so...when are you going to introduce him to your parents?"

"Next week sometime, depending on how things go." Emma replied confidently.

"Good, because," and, here, Ashlee pointed a finger at the camera set up in the corner of the room. "My parents set up the security camera to monitor the house while they're on their cruise, in case somebody breaks in again when they're not home. They've been watching us this entire time."

Emma nearly had a heart attack.

* * *

That night, Ashlee lay in her bed, unable to sleep.

_I...I've just seen something _amazing_..._ She realised, finally caving in and going over to her computer. She recalled standing out there on the balcony, and listening to her cousin talk to her boyfriend. Ashlee had heard some pretty strange stuff, and hadn't believed a word of it...until Ace had transformed into a cat.

Now, Ashlee sat down at her computer, and typed in: **Ace** **Pirate**.**  
**

When the search came up, she clicked on the first link and, playing with the sapphire flower necklace she now had around her neck, began to read...

* * *

Georgia tossed and turned that night, trying to sleep, but unable to due to all of the worries that she now had.

What was going on?

Had they found that ship yet and, if so, had they found Carmilla?

What would happen if they _hadn't_? If they _didn't_?

Georgia's eyes snapped open when she saw a faint red light, and saw that somebody was sitting at the foot of her bed. She gasped. "Who are...?"

The little girl held up her scythe (which scared the Hell out of Georgia, who lapsed into silence) and stated: "My name is Little Death. I can't take you to your sister, but I know someone who can." She moved her scythe, drawing a childish picture in red light in the air, whilst Georgia watched her in shock. The picture then morphed into a holographic image of Emma, sitting there, and surrounded by people. Little Death pointed her scythe at the necklace that was now visible around Emma's neck, as her poncho had slipped down a little bit. "See that necklace? That's your ticket to going to the world where Carmilla is."

"And...what world is that?" Georgia asked nervously, hoping that it wouldn't be Hell or somewhere like that.

Little Death's gaze was calm, but her eyes were burning. "A world that shouldn't even exist."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. _I Hate You_, by 2NE1. youtu .be / NB5jyY D2WEw**

**. Ngarimu's name is Maori. It's pronounced '_na_-_da_-_mu_'.**

**. Xóchitl's name is Aztec. It's pronounced '_so_-_jii_'.**

**. _Perra_ = bitch, in Spanish.**

* * *

_Cocoa Liddell - Ace is always amazing! I'm glad you thought that Emma was awesome, and that the previous chapter was your favourite! ^^_

_MsWildLuck - heh, that's _one_ way to hold back a snake! XD And, as for Law and Emma, you'll just have to wait and see._

_KaiF . Raphaella - thanks for your continued support! :)_

_Mailumia - thank you so very much! It makes me happy to know that you appreciate my story. And, oh my God, yes, I also get depressed by thinking of Ace's death! T_T It's amazing how a manga/anime can have such an effect on people! Oda-Sensei is still a better writer than me, but I'll keep on trying! ^^_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - whaa, why do you people keep tormenting me with threats of Boa Hancock's wrath?! She's scary... *Hides behind mongoose* Anyways, I'm very glad to hear that my story has made your day better with some more AcexEmma action (Acma? Emmace?). Thank you for looking at my drawings! I did a part two of the second lot (including Usopp and Chopper) but I advise against looking at it until the story progresses further. And you saw NOTHING! There was no breaking of the fourth-wall ANYWHERE! My magic sparklefingers of swiftness said so! :D_


	15. Love Actually

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Author's Notes + Parental Warning:**

**. This chapter did NOT want to get written but, luckily, it all came together!**

**. There's a teensy-tinsy little bit of sexual references in this chapter, nothing _too_ bad. Mostly just boys being boys, that sort of thing...  
**

* * *

**I also have to wonder...why are my Stats not adding up for this story?  
**

* * *

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Love Actually

* * *

Emma woke up by herself the next morning, feeling like her head was about to explode.

_Ooh...my head..._ She thought, feeling the room spinning around her. _How much...did I drink last night? Let's see...one bottle of wine...or, was it two? No, wait, definitely one...ooh, but then there was all of those Midori shots...let's see, how many were there...__?_ She held up her hand. _Five, six, nine...wait, why do I have twenty fingers...?_

Yup, she was _definitely_ in Hang-Over City. It would pass but, for now, she was on a one-way street through Hell.

Sitting up, she closed her eyes as her head hammered, and then she happened to glance to her right, and saw Ace, as a cat, passed out on the pillow...no, wait, he wasn't passed out, he was about to...

"Oh no, Ace-Chan!" Emma cried, grabbing the cat and, not really caring if her parents found out about this or not, rushed him out of her room and into the bathroom, where she practically threw him into the bath-tub, just in time.

As Ace was being sick, Emma heard the phone ring and, clutching her aching head, stumbled down the hall and into the kitchen, where she picked up the phone.

"Hel-hello?" She groaned.

"How are you feeling?" Her Mum's voice asked.

"Like I've been hit by a truck." Emma responded, sinking to her knees and resting her head against the recess wall.

"Well, that's what you get." Lee laughed gently. "Don't worry, it's perfectly fine to go out to a party and get drunk."

"It is?"

"Yes, as long as you don't do it at home." Lee replied, pointedly.

Emma grimaced. "So, you're not angry?"

"No, why would we be?"

"Oh, no reason." Emma moved her position, so that her back was to the wall. "Hey, where are you guys, anyway?"

"Dad and I decided to go to the Swan Valley today," Lee responded. "We're going wine-tasting, and we didn't think that you'd want to come."

"You got that right." Emma muttered.

"Okay, well, we'll let you go now." Lee took the hint. "Have a good day."

"Yeah, you too." Emma replied. "Bye, Mum."

"See you later." Lee responded, and both of them hung up.

Emma sighed, and closed her eyes, just as Ace came into the kitchen.

"Who was that?" He asked, swaying slightly.

"My Mum." Emma replied, not opening her eyes. "Seems she and Dad have gone out for the day..."

"That's good." Ace replied, lying down on the floor.

Emma, meanwhile, stood up. "Come on, let's get rid of these hang-overs."

"You can do that?" Ace questioned, not moving.

Emma shrugged. "Who knows. It's worth a try, after all, and I've got a few tips from my sister. Besides, we need to check in with the crew..." She reminded him.

Ace's eyes snapped open, and he got up and jumped onto the chair, and then onto the bench. "Okay then, Emiko, let's see what you've got!"

* * *

Ace looked doubtfully at the Vegemite on toast, and then at the Coke, and then at the Berocca, and then at the Panadol. He looked back up at Emma. "Umm, do I get to be human when I eat this, or do you want me to get that black stuff all over my face?"

"Hmm?" Emma glanced at him from behind her coffee cup, and then her eyes widened. "Mmm!" She swallowed. "Oh, yeah, right!" She touched a hand to her compass. "Here..."

When Ace was a human again, and Emma was back to drinking her honey-infused coffee, Ace took the Berocca and started eating the toast, which had the strangest black stuff on it that he had _ever_ seen.

They ate in silence, sitting side-by-side at the bench. Emma kept her left wrist out on the bench, and kept on staring at the Baby Den-Den Mushi, waiting for it to ring.

Ace glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, as he munched on the toast that was actually pretty good, and noticed the worried look on her face.

He reached out, and took her left hand in his right.

She glanced at him, and saw him staring straight ahead. "Hey," he said. "Don't worry...if Sumi said that _Oyaji_ had it under control, then he did."

"Hmm..." Emma nodded. "I know...hey, aren't _you_ supposed to be the one worried here?"

He looked at her. "I'm more worried about _you_ at the moment." He put his arm across her shoulder, and drew her over to him.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "The only thing you have to worry about with me at the moment is whether or not I'll be able to get down to the other end of the house to clean up the bathroom..."

"Ugh." They said in unison, drawing away from each other and resting their heads in their hands, with their elbows on the table.

They glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes, and grinned.

"I'll clean the bathroom up." Ace offered, pushing his chair back.

"Oh, no, I'll..."

"I insist." Ace said firmly, holding up a hand. "After all, I'm the one who, uh...yeah...so, you just relax."

"Yeah, by doing the dishes..." Emma replied, rolling her eyes. "There's no rest for the weary..."

"Just be thankful we're not somewhere in the second half of the Grand Line, being attacked by Neptunians when we're feeling like this." Ace pointed out.

Emma nodded sagely. "It could always be worse."

"Exactly."

* * *

Emma put the dishes in the dishwasher, and stared at her wrist some some, willing the Baby Den-Den Mushi to wake up, and ring, and for Sumi or Luffy or Nami to be on the other end...heck, she'd even want to hear from _Law_ at the moment!

To distract herself, at least until Ace finished cleaning up the bathroom, Emma checked in with the dog (asleep in the laundry, behind his gate) and opened the sliding doors, letting the warm air in from outside. She then turned on the TV, going over and dusting off the screen, hoping that wouldn't see anything bad. As she flicked over to the morning news, she considered what she might see - North Korea Launches Missile At America...Another Terrorist Bombing...Another Girl Killed In Perth...

"Last night off the coast of Coogee, the Navy was involved in a scuffle with the same pirate ship that appeared off the coast of Dunsborough a few weeks ago." Emma dropped the remote, which clattered to the floor. She remained frozen in front of the TV, kneeling between it and the coffee table. "This footage was captured, and we warn, some viewers may be disturbed by this presentation." Emma gasped silently.

"Last night, a Naval warship opened fire on the large ship with the whale figurehead, only to find themselves faced with nothing the world has ever seen before." The presenter was saying, as images were shown of explosions rocking the Moby Dick, much to Emma's horror. Then, the scene shifted, to show a figure that looked suspiciously like Marco flying into the air, and unleashing a flame that stopped the rest of the attacks. "A man with wings of fire unleashed a wave of fury upon our Naval ship. We're not sure how or why, but this _actual_, raw footage you are seeing, unedited and one hundred percent true." The scene then showed Whitebeard, standing at the bow of the ship, and he unleashed his own powers on the Naval Ship. "This is a direct attack on Australian Defence Forces, but the Government has assured everyone that they have this under control, and that there is no cause for alarm."

Emma had tears in her eyes, and the tears spilled over and ran down her face, just as Ace came in, and just as the last part of the presentation was shown.

"The ship with the whale figure-head disappeared at the end of the long and very gruelling battle." The presenter said. "So far, there are only minor injuries on the Navy's part. It seems that the pirates were only attempting to defend their ship and escape, and this last message was recorded from a boy on the ship, wearing a straw hat. He flew through the air with six others. What you are about to hear is the straw hat boy's own words."

And, a picture was shown of Luffy, using his Gomu-Gomu powers to fly through the air with Nami, Chopper, Sumi, Usopp, Zoro and Law.

Zoro was trying to hang onto his swords, Law was looking bored, Nami looked terrified and so did Usopp, Chopper was flailing, and Sumi's hair was flying out behind her...or, was that something else behind her?

Luffy shouted something out for the whole world to hear:

"_Emmy! Nii-San! We're okay, and we'll see you soooon_!"

"We have no way of knowing what this message means. There appear to be things going on that we can't explain, but we _will_ let you know, and keep you posted, as soon as more information comes to light. In the meantime, there is _no_ cause for alarm, as the ship appears to have vanished."

Emma suddenly leaned forwards, her shoulders shaking as tears ran down her face.

Ace hurried over to her and knelt down beside her. "Hey, Emiko..."

"Ace-Chan!" Emma sobbed, but he heard the happiness and relief in her voice, as well. "They're okay...but...what's going to happen now? The Navy attacked _them_, not the other way around...and now people will _recognize_ them..."

"It'll be okay." Ace assured her, patting her back in a comforting way. "You saw for yourself, they're okay..."

"But...oh my God, _I_ should be comforting _you_, Ace-Chan, not the other way around!" Emma realised, looking up at him.

Ace grinned. "Nah, I'm fine. As soon as I heard Luffy say that he was fine, I knew he was. It'll be okay."

Emma nodded, and suddenly realised how close they were. Ace was right up close to her, and his face was suddenly mere inches away from hers.

As they kissed again, Emma felt that same warm feeling inside her chest that she had felt the other two times they'd kissed. She tried to remember what her sister had said about kissing, and about what she'd read in magazines and on the internet...she moved her hands up to rest on Ace's well-toned, very warm chest, and his hands snaked around her waist, under her pyjamas top (the ones that had a check-list that read: I Like: My bed/sleeping in/dreaming of you/all of the above, and the last one was checked).

Emma gasped, blushing slightly, as Ace ran his hands up her back, and her skin tingled where he was touching. She'd never experienced this before...but she liked it. She ran her hands up his chest, and looped them around his neck. For some odd reason, she didn't feel as embarrassed as she'd always thought that she would if she was doing this...something about being with Ace felt as natural as breathing...which, they weren't doing a lot of right now.

As they drew apart, Emma remembered hearing about something on the show _Seventh Heaven_, and she said: "Ace-Chan...there's something we have to try later..."

Ace leaned back in, his nose touching hers. "Why not try now?" He whispered, and they moved towards each other.

Just then, the sliding door was slammed open, nearly being thrown off its hinges.

Emma and Ace jumped apart, gasping, as Garp stood there, his face _furious_.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO _DOING_?!" He shouted, readying his fist.

As Ace gasped, and moved to shield Emma from the 'Fist Of Love', she cried: "_Not in the house_!"

Garp froze, and then sighed. He sat down on the ground...and promptly fell asleep.

Emma stole a glance at Ace, and blanched - he was asleep too!

Emma rolled her eyes, and got up carefully, deciding to just leave the two of them there. Then, thinking better of it, she transformed them both into cats - at least she would be able to separate them if they were felines!

* * *

"So, that's what happened?" Garp sighed, settling himself on the sofa chair. Emma had refused to turn him and Ace back into humans and so, for now, they were going to have to make do with being cats.

Emma nodded, from where she was curled up on the second sofa chair, looking at her would-be Grandpa. "Mmhmm...I'm really worried, but...well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Her arms were resting on the side of the sofa chair, and her head was resting on her knuckles. Her hang-over wasn't quite gone yet, but it was getting there.

Garp nodded, too. "Yes, that's all you can do. I have an idea of where my grandson might be...will you two be coming with me this afternoon?" He asked.

Emma shook her head, as the black cat that was Ace jumped up onto the couch with her, and crawled up to her arms, resting the top of his head against her chin.

"No, I've gotta meet the parents." Ace explained.

"Oh yeah, _that'll_ be a bit different." Emma said, and the two of them chuckled.

Garp stared at them for a moment, before he sighed. "I see how it is. So then, I assume that you two will either want to get married in this world or the other one."

"No, we're going to get married in outer space." Emma said sarcastically, and then she gasped, as Ace froze in her arms. "Wait, what?! _Married_?! Me?! A _wife_?! The wife of the coolest pirate _ever_?!" She jumped up, managing to land neatly by the glass doors. 'He hasn't even met my parents yet, and you're _betrothing_ us?! I...I need to go and get dressed!" She blushed at the fact that she was wearing pyjama shorts and a top that had a checklist, with the last one ticked.

I Like:

My bed.

Sleeping in.

Dreaming of you.

All of the above!

Of course, if she could just start dreaming of _Ace_ a little more than she dreamed of a certain horrific and evil man, then she would be a lot _happier_!

As she beat a hasty retreat, she stopped in the hallway, and flattened herself against the wall, listening.

"Why the _Hell_ did you have to go and _say_ that to her, _Ojichan_?!" Ace snapped._  
_

"I'm doing you a _favour_, you ungrateful brat!" Garp retorted.

"We've only _just_ started going out!"

"So then, you _don't_ want to marry her, is that it?"

"I didn't _say_ that! Stop putting words into my mouth, old man!"

"How DARE you speak to your Grandfather like that! I want great-grandkids that actually _respect_ me, and will grow up to be Marines, unlike you and your brother!"

"Mine and Emiko's kids are going to be _pirates_!"

"A-HA! So you _do_ admit it, you little spore! I won't let them become pirates, though! You two will get married at Marine Headquarters and have six children, three boys and three girls, and they're _all_ going to become Marines!"

"Stop deciding our future for us!"

Emma covered her mouth to avoid laughing - she suddenly had a _very_ happy feeling inside of her, as if a giant balloon was swelling up inside of her. Perhaps it was the Berocca, or perhaps it was the fact that she suddenly had a tiny pinprick of hope in her future but, whatever the reason, she felt like she could face _anything_ that the day threw at her.

* * *

Little Death walked by herself along a high stone wall. To one side of her, there was a Marine base. To her other side, there was the sea.

Little Death looked out at the waves, and frowned. The pint-sized goddess was _not_ in a good mood. More than half of the Allies had been found by now, which meant that they were more than halfway to stopping her in her tracks. Oh, how Little Death _wished_ that she could just destroy Emma and the others but, if there was _one_ thing that she _couldn't_ do, even more so than transporting other people to and from worlds (she had already broken that rule once, with Sakazuki, and Twister had been able to find her because of it), it was killing any one of the Chosen Ones._  
_

Little Death remembered, like it was yesterday, her Mother telling her about the Chosen Ones.

_"The Chosen Ones may not always reside in the same realm as each other, but the bond that unites them is unbreakable. It is a powerful and sacred bond that will continue for all of time."_

Little Death remembered, she had only been eighty-two years old at the time, still with short hair and not quite freed from the flower that had born her when her parents created her. not all Immortals were created this way - Little Death had been a special case.

_"But why? What makes the Chosen Ones so special?"_

Little Death had asked her mother this. Her beautiful Mother, with hair as black as pitch and beautiful scarlet eyes that matched the blood-colour of her lips, and skin as pale as the snow. Truly a treasure, even amongst the Immortals...

_"Because they are united under one Grace - under the Grace of their Princess. She is more gentle than the rolling waves, yet more powerful than a tempest...she is more beautiful than starlight, and will forge the alliance of her Allies under one light."_

These were the words spoken by Little Death's Mother...her beautiful Mummy...her unreachable Mummy...

Little Death remembered how she had aspired to be like her Mother but then, as time went on, she had heard her Mother speak often of this Princess. Little Death had started to feel strange, like something was gnawing at her chest. It had not gone away...it had only grown stronger...

When Little Death had learned of the new Chosen Ones, and discovered that Emma was one of them, she didn't care whether or not Emma was the Princess. Because, Ms. Faith had given _her_ the necklace and the compass, and instructed _her_ to gather the other Allies and find the Princess.

Little Death knew who she was - she was the goddess of the Underworld, and could kill anyone she wished (well, _almost_ anyone she wished) with just a quick kiss. She could sever body parts as she wished. She was _death_ itself, and she knew it. It was _her_ job to kill things, things which should not exist. Otherwise, why _else_ would she have been created?

"I know," Little Death smiled, showing pointed fangs. "I should just go and kill Emma's entire family, and all of her non-Chosen One friends...that'll show her who she's dealing with!"

I must advise against that, Little Death.

Little Death froze, the smile sliding off her face, which had suddenly paled. There it was...that voice again...the one that she'd been listening to since that day...she didn't dare to question it, for fear of what terrible misfortune would befall her if she did.

Little Death stared down at her reflection and, for an instant, something dark was hovering at the back of her, a monstrous shape.

Little Death gasped, and spun around, but there was nobody there.

She was all alone.

"I can do this..." Little Death said, breathing heavily. "It's what I was created to do...I can _do_ this..."

* * *

"Oh my God, I'm so nervous! I can't do this, Ace-Chan!" Emma exclaimed, from where she was lying on the couch, clutching a yellow couch cushion.

"Mmhmm." Ace said wisely, from where he was sitting on the coffee table. "And, tell me why not."

Emma peeked at him from behind her couch cushion. "What if they don't like you?" She asked him in a small voice.

Ace just stared at her. "_That's_ what you're worried about?" She nodded. "Emiko, let me tell you, where I'm from, people not liking me is practically a given. In fact, I can count the number of times on _no_ hands that I've _ever_ cared what people think about me."

"Yes, well, let me tell you, Ace-Chan, this is one of those times that you _should_." Emma replied. She sat up suddenly, as the clock struck five. "Oh my God, we shouldn't be sitting inside when my parents come home! Come on!"

"Why not?" Ace wanted to know, as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out the front.

"Because it's _highly_ inappropriate!" Emma told him, shaking her head as she shut the door behind them, and then frowned.

"I've been inside the house before, remember?" Ace pointed out.

"Yeah, but they don't know that." She replied. Then: "Ace-Chan...I think we're locked out..."

"You're kidding, right?"

She turned around, a sheepish smile on her face. "I wish that I was."

Ace rolled his eyes...and then he pounced on her!

"Hey!" She cried, as she was tackled playfully to the ground. "Wait a minute!" She gasped, and then started giggling, as he started tickling her on the sides. "No, wait, stop, I'm ticklish!"

"Oh, I know that _now_!" Ace grinned.

"Oh, come on, have _mercy_!" She begged him.

He leaned down, his face just above hers. "I'm a pirate - we don't show mercy." He whispered.

"Ace-Chan, you're _evil_!" She complained, still giggling, and then she happened to glance over at the driveway. She saw, coming down the street, that familiar black car, and her heart just about stopped. "My parents are home!" She gasped.

Ace glanced over his shoulder, and then he reacted fast, by grabbing her hand and yanking her up as he jumped up, getting them both seated on opposite sides of the little glass table that was on the front porch, and managing to make it look like they'd just been sitting there casually.

Well, _Ace_ looked casual. He was (thank goodness) wearing a black shirt, and black jeans. He looked totally at ease, sitting back in his chair, with one leg crossed over the other.

Emma, meanwhile, was sitting in her chair, shaking so much that the chair shook with her. Her hands were crossed in her lap, and she was wearing black jeans and a black singlet...it took her a moment to realise that she and Ace were dressed similar, and she groaned inwardly. _Oh yeah, this is not suspicious_ at all_..._

Emma and Ace watched as the black Hyundai slowed to a stop, and then the passenger door opened, and Lee got out.

"This is it..." Emma whispered, and Ace glanced at her quickly, noticing how pale she looked.

As Bruce drove the car towards the garage, Lee began to walk towards her youngest daughter and her boyfriend...

* * *

Emma's mouth had gone dry. She tried to swallow, and found that she couldn't. Her Mother seemed to speed-run up to the porch but, in reality, Lee was actually walking pretty slowly, giving herself time to assess the situation, and also giving her daughter time to prepare herself. Lee had been in Emma's position before - she knew how nervous Emma must be feeling right now.

Lee felt a thrill of anticipation - this could be the moment that she'd been waiting for!

As Lee approached, she watched for the classic signs of 'Daughter About To Introduce First Boyfriend To Mum', and there they were - clenched hands, crossed ankles, pale face...

Emma opened her mouth. "Hll..."

And sudden inability to talk.

Yup, this was Emma's boyfriend, alright.

Lee couldn't believe it. Emma had a _boyfriend_? Little Emma, who still had stuffed animals and who still watched kids cartoons...had a _boyfriend_?

_No, Leonie, now let's not jump to conclusions,_ the blonde-haired woman told herself. _This could all just be something else..._ During the walk up there, she had been checking this guy out to get an idea of what she was up against here. Black hair, kind of messy...cute freckles across the face, and warm brown eyes...tall but not _too_ tall, which was good news for her daughter...hmm, well-toned body...

Lee could see that, even underneath the shirt, which looked suspiciously like one of Mike's old ones, but she chose not to mention this, and instead stopped when she was at a suitable distance away, and smiled. "Hello." She said.

Lee could read the look on Emma's face. It said: That's all she's going to say?! She's making _me_ explain the situation here?!

Lee watched as Emma and this strange young man stood up, and exchanged a glance. Lee watched this taking place, and noted a few things, as Emma approached her, followed by the stranger.

"Mum," Emma said, only half-looking at Lee. "This is...Ace, my...b-boyfriend." Her face was pale now.

_OH MY GOD_! Lee thought, but she kept her face neutral, as this 'Ace' stuck out his hand, and she shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Ace...?"

Emma blinked, and then said: "Umm...Gold. His last name is Gold."

Was it just Lee, or did Ace's expression freeze for a fraction of a second when Emma said this, before he smiled warmly. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Pax."

"Call me Lee." She replied, and she saw Emma breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Ace had passed the first test - a few of Sarah's boyfriends hadn't even gotten _that_ far. "So, when did you get here?"

"His mates d-dropped him off about an h-hour ago, because I wanted you t-to meet h-him today." Emma stammered, fiddling with her compass.

Lee watched as Ace followed the movements of Emma's hands, and then his eyes widened slightly, and she looked up at him, and he shook his head slightly. Then, _her_ eyes widened, and she dropped her hands to her sides.

Lee had noticed that compass before, but had forgotten to ask her daughter about it. Not wanting to do it in front of a guest, she said: "I'll be back in a minute, I'll just go and get my husband - he'll want to meet you, too." She added, and walked towards the house, but not before giving her daughter a quick Look. She then tried to open the front door. "What the...?"

"Uh, sorry Mum, I kind of...locked us out..."

Lee had a sudden suspicion that those two had been in the house just minutes, or even _moments_, before she and her husband had come home. She'd been there, and done that, after all.

* * *

Bruce was waiting for Lee in the kitchen.

"Well?" He asked.

Lee just looked at him, and the two of them stared into each others eyes, brown into blue, for a moment, before Bruce nodded that he understood.

Silently, the two of them crept into the dining room, and carefully peered out of the window.

Emma and Ace were standing in the exact same spot that they'd been left at, and Ace was shaking his head.

Emma hung _her_ head, and said something to him. She then looked up, because Ace had gone very still, and his eyes were closed.

"_Whaa_!" Lee and Bruce heard their youngest daughter yell. She grabbed Ace's shoulders and shook them. "_No falling asleep, you narcoleptic cat man! I need you to still be awake when you meet my Dad!_"_  
_

Ace shook his head, and Lee and Bruce realised, with a start, that he really _had_ just been asleep.

He looked down at Emma, and then tilted his head to the side and grinned.

Emma stared back up at him, and then her face turned red, and she smiled slightly.

Ace reached up, and touched a hand to the side of her face, where the bruising was only barely visible. She leaned her face slightly to him, and he used his fingers to brush her hair behind her ears.

"He's very gentle with her." Lee whispered. "But, at the same time, it looks like he can be quite strong but, for some reason, she doesn't seem afraid of him."

"Mmm." Bruce nodded.

"Look at the way he's looking at her...I can't quite place it..." Lee went on. "But, he seems to be...protective over her...there's that look in his eyes, like he's got something important that he won't ever let go of..."

"Mmm." Bruce agreed.

"Also, just look at the way she's moving around him..." Lee pointed out. "Watch..."

And, as the two parents watched, Ace let go of Emma, and gestured that they should sit down on the limestone wall. As he moved, so too did she, and they sat down together. Ace looked completely at ease, with his legs crossed Indian-style. Emma was sitting right next to him, one leg stretched out to the side, and her other one tucked up close, similar to a leg stretch.

Ace said something then, and Emma laughed - not her shy and insecure little giggle or the fan-girlish way that she laughed when watching her favourite anime...no, this was a _real_ and _genuine_ laugh.

"She's already comfortable around him." Bruce noted, straightening up. "Well then, let's go and meet him..."

* * *

In just under an hour, Lee and Bruce had already drawn their conclusions about 'Ace Gold'. He was polite, funny and friendly. They weren't so sure, however, that they _quite_ believed what their daughter was telling them.

In Emma's words, she and Ace had met at TAFE - he was three years younger than her, but in a different class. They had met a few months ago, but had only _just_ started going out. This was Ace's first time at the house. He lived in Fremantle, with his Grandfather.

When Lee heard this, she dared to approach a topic that she thought might be a bit risky, so she did it cautiously. "What about your parents?" She said it in a non-obtrusive way, giving Ace the option of not answering.

Ace looked away, and then glanced at Emma, who nodded encouragingly. Ace turned back to Lee, and looked her in the eye. "My old man died before I was born, and my Mother died a few minutes after I was born. So, I never knew my Mother, or _him_."

Lee nodded sympathetically. She'd lost her Father when she was twenty-one, and her Mother had died eight years ago. She couldn't imagine losing both parents before life had even started. She also noticed the differences between the ways that Ace spoke about his parents. Obviously, there were circumstances surrounding this. "Any brothers or sisters?"

Ace brightened at this - Lee noticed the way his eyes lit up. "Yeah, I've got a younger brother." He laughed, and Emma grinned. Obviously, she had met this younger brother. "He's a bit of a handful at times, but he's a good kid!"

Lee turned to Emma. "So, you've met him?"

Emma nodded. "Umm, yeah...I've got a few friends that I...haven't told you about yet, Mum..."

"And, when do I get to meet all of these friends?" Lee wanted to know.

Emma and Ace exchanged a glance, and then Emma replied: "Whenever...they live in Fremantle..." She made a big show of checking her watch (Lee noticed the strange, snail-like bracelet that she was wearing, as well) and then added: "Come to think of it, we'd better be going - I'm dropping Ace back at home."

"Oh, but won't you say for tea?" Lee questioned.

Ace's eyes lit up. "Sur-"

"NO!" Emma cried, taking them all by surprise. She grabbed Ace's hand and yanked him up. "That _wouldn't_ be a very good idea, because of what we _talked_ about!" She hissed, and then noticed that her Mother was staring at her strangely. She laughed, a little nervously. "Ah, Ace's Grandpa will get annoyed if we, uh, I mean if _he_ doesn't...you know, get home in time for tea!" She was hanging onto Ace's arm like it was a lifeline. "You know how it is, I mean, Ace's Grandpa was in the military...ah, anyways, uh..." She then glanced at Ace, and realised that he'd fallen asleep standing up - again. She face-palmed, and sat down again.

"Emma, is everything okay?" Lee asked gently.

Emma nodded. "Mmhmm. Ace is just narcoleptic...he falls asleep at the _worst_ of times."

"He seems nice." Lee smiled. She suddenly pulled her daughter into a fierce hug. "I'm _so_ happy for you!" She then whispered: "I need to talk to you later."

Emma cringed - Lee's words sounded more like a warning. She should have known this would happen, but at least her Mother was happy for her.

Bruce was also smiling.

Ace woke up suddenly. "So, what were we saying?"

Emma sprung up again like she was on fire. "We were just saying that we should be leaving!" She dragged him towards the laundry. "Come on, you!" She added: "Mum, I'll call you when I leave Ace's house!"

"Bye Lee! Bye Mr Pax! It was nice meeting you!" Ace added.

Lee and Bruce just watched them both go, thinking how strange the situation was.

"I get the feeling she's not telling us something." Lee muttered.

"Mmm." Bruce agreed.

* * *

Emma stopped the car in a nearby street, and leaned back in her seat.

"You okay?" Ace asked her.

Emma nodded. "Yeah...I think so...I just needed to get out of there. They were asking too many questions. I guess I just panicked."

"Nice to know you keep your head cool in a situation like this." Ace remarked, and Emma glanced at him. He was frowning.

"What is it?" Emma asked tentatively. Had she said something wrong?

Ace sighed. "It's just...why did you tell them my name was Ace _Gold_?"

"Because if I'd said Portgas D. Ace, my Dad would've known who you were." Emma replied.

"You could've used a name other than Gold." Ace pointed out.

"I don't think well under pressure." Emma mumbled.

"That's for sure." Emma stared down at her hands, and Ace glanced at her. "Hey, what is it?"

Emma glanced up at him. "My parents really seemed to like you..." She said shyly. "Actually, I think that they're just happy that I finally met someone...so...please don't be...upset with me..."

Ace's eyes widened. "Whoa, hang on, who said I was upset? Sure, I wish that you'd picked a different name, preferably something cool like Solarstorm or Flareup, but I'm not upset with you!"

"_Solarstorm_?" Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Or Flareup."

They looked at each other, and started laughing.

Ace grinned at Emma. "You know, it was kind of cute how flustered you got back there, Emiko." Emma blushed. Ace leaned closer. "And there it is..." He took off his seat-belt, and leaned even closer. "I'm glad your parents approved of me - it makes it much easier for me to..."

_Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da. Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da._

"_Whaa_!" They both leaped apart, and Emma shakily answered her Baby Den-Den Mushi. "Hel-hello?"

"HELLO, GRANDDAUGHTER!" Garp's voice came over the line, and Emma instantly felt sorry for the Baby Den-Den Mushi. " "GUESS WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW!"

"Uh..."

"I'M BACK IN FREMANTLE, AND GUESS WHO'S WITH ME!"

"Umm..."

Everyone's voices suddenly came from the background.

"Luffy, _shishishishi_!"

"Chopper!"

"Nami."

"Usopp."

"Sumiiii!"

"Zoro."

"And me."

"That was Law." Nami explained.

"Well duh."

"It sounds like an answering-machine." Emma muttered, and then gasped. "Wait, you're all okay!"

"Of _course_ we are!" Luffy said. "Didn't you get our message?!"

"What we got was you screaming something as you flew through the air." Ace spoke up.

"Oh, Ace, you're there, too!" Luffy said gleefully.

"Of _course_ I am." Ace mimicked. "I just met the parents." He added.

"How did it go, Ace-Kun?" Sumi wanted to know.

"Yes, tell us." Nami added eagerly.

"Well, they..."

But, Garp suddenly cut the conversation off, by yelling: "EXCUSE ME, YOU MORONS, BUT THIS IS _MY_ CONVERSATION!" There was a slight scuffle, followed by a series of thwacks, and then Garp said, in a much calmer voice: "Now, granddaughter, no doubt you'll be wanting to get rid of that obnoxious grandson of mine, so I'll tell you where we are."

"Who're you calling obnoxious, you annoying rule-abider?!" Ace cried.

"WATCH YOUR TONE, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRAT!" Garp yelled back.

"Hey, don't yell at Ace!" Luffy protested.

"_Stay out of this_!" Ace and Garp cried.

"Aww..."

Emma just leaned back in her seat, laughing.

* * *

"Wow..." Emma and Ace said in unison, staring up at the warehouse. What had once been an old and abandoned place was now, well, sparkling.

"I've driven past this place a few times, and I thought that it would take _months_ for it to get to this level of sparkliness." Emma said, as she and Ace walked towards the building. "Your Grandpa really did a good job..."

"You mean he did a good job directing my little brother and his friends to clean it up _for_ him." Ace rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, right...I forgot."

They knocked on the roller-door, which was immediately opened up by a certain green-haired swordsman.

"Ace!" He said, accusingly. "Your Grandfather is _insane_!"

"Pity Ace and Luffy, who had to grow up with him." Emma remarked. "I'm glad everyone's okay, though."

Zoro just nodded. He had a few cuts and scrapes on him, but looked no worse for wear.

"What about the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates?" Ace wanted to know.

"You'd better ask Sumi." Zoro replied.

"Is she okay?" Ace asked, just a bundle of pink and blonde hit him.

"Ace-Kun!" Sumi cheered, hugging Ace around the waist. She looked up at him, her teal eyes sparkling. "We've been waiting for you guys!"

Ace grinned at her, and then tugged on one of her pigtails. "Hope you weren't _too_ worried."

Sumi scowled up at him, rubbing the spot on her head where her hair had been tugged. "Not _that_ much." She assured him, as Emma took a look around the warehouse.

It was a decent size, and looked like it had been used as some kind of a workshop in the past. Emma was sure that it had once looked run-down, but now everything had been cleaned up and fixed up. They were standing in a small entrance-way, leading to a hallway, which Zoro led them down. There were doors on either side, and Emma was willing to bet pretty much _anything_ that they were being used as rooms for those staying here.

As Emma walked at the front with Zoro, Ace and Sumi walked behind and chatted about what had happened. Sumi was assuring Ace that the Whitebeard Pirates would be fine.

"Are you sure?" Ace sounded a bit worried. "What did _Oyaji_ say?"

"Just that they'll come and find us when the time is right." Sumi replied.

"When the time is right?" Ace repeated. He rubbed the back of his head. "What does that even _mean_?"

Emma had turned around, and was walking backwards. "Oh, Ace-Chan, you know Whitebeard-Sama - he sounds like he doesn't really worry about anything but, deep down, you can tell that he's planning everything through and thinking about a lot. I'm sure he'll be fine." She smiled at him.

Ace blinked, and then nodded, returning the smile. "Yeah...I guess so...he always knows what he's doing."

Emma nodded, and then walked backwards into somebody very big. "Huh?" She looked up, and saw Garp staring down at her. "Oh. Hello, Grandpa."

"Hello yourself, Emma." He replied, crossing his arms as she moved away from him and turned around, standing by Zoro, Ace and Sumi. "I trust that my grandson was no trouble for your parents?"

Emma grinned, and shook her head. "Nope! No problem at all! They really liked him!"

Nami had stuck her head out of the doorway at the end of the hallway, and was smiling. "That's good." She said, and beckoned them all in. "Come on, hurry up if you want to eat before Luffy and Usopp get back."

"Oh? Where did they go?" Ace wanted to know.

"Just to get some supplies." Chopper said, appearing in the doorway by Nami's feet. "They should be back soon."

"And, umm...how are they...paying for these supplies?" Emma dared to ask.

From the way Nami and Sumi sighed, and Garp's disapproving Look, she realised that she didn't need any answer.

"I'm glad you left the roller-door up, Zoro." Nami added, as they walked into the make-shift kitchen, where a pot was boiling on the stove.

"Oh, why's that?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

Nami rolled her eyes. "You _know_." She stressed, going over to the stove. She frowned. "I'm not as good at this as Sanji is..."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Nami-Chan." Sumi told her confidently, seating herself down at the table which Emma didn't want to ask where had come from. "Of course, I've never tasted Sanji's cooking before, so I wouldn't know."

"Oh, it's the _best_!" Chopper chirped, climbing onto a stool so that he could watch what Nami was doing at the stove. "Not that yours won't be good too, Nami!" He added quickly.

Nami just nodded, and concentrated on her cooking, as she said: "_Ne_, Emma, will you be staying for tea?"

"I can't." Emma said ruefully, shaking her head. "I've got to get home and, uh...listen to what my parents have to say."

"So, how was it?" Law asked from the corner of the kitchen, where he was leaning against a wall - they hadn't even seen him!

Emma and Ace looked over at him. "It went fine, thank you." Ace said stiffly.

"I see." Law replied.

"They really seemed to like him." Emma added.

"Is that so?" Law glanced at her, his silver eyes smouldering slightly.

Emma stared back at him, suddenly mesmerized - why was it that every time he looked at her, she suddenly found herself captured by his gaze? She still hadn't forgotten how he had stolen her first kiss...he said that she _owed_ him...for what? For him not killing Coby?

Was that the _only_ reason that Law had kissed her, or...could it possibly be that...?

Zoro, Garp, Nami, Chopper and Sumi seemed to be oblivious to the fact that Emma and Law were currently involved in a silent staring contest. Only Ace seemed aware of it, and his insides burned but, before he could say anything, Nami suddenly spoke up.

"They should be back by now." She said, checking the clock on the wall (more stolen merchandise).

"Maybe our luck will hold out?" Zoro suggested, as he set the table.

"Well," Sumi stated. "Based on our recent run of luck I would have to disagree." She tapped a finger to her chin. "Observe..."

The sound of running footsteps could suddenly be heard from outside - it sounded like two sets of footsteps.

"They're _baaack_..." Sumi said, in a sing-song voice. "And, they're probably hungry." She added.

"GIVE ME FOOOOD!" Luffy's voice could be heard yelling.

"He'll probably use his Gomu-Gomu powers..." Sumi went on. "That should happen...now."

"GOMU-GOMU NO...SLING-SHOT!"

"He'll have grabbed Usopp and will be flying through the air..."

They all turned, to see Luffy and Usopp flying towards them, carrying bags of supplies.

"Then they'll probably crash into something, but I could be wrong." Sumi finished, as Luffy and Usopp flew into the kitchen, heading straight for Emma and Ace.

At the last second, Law leaped forwards and pushed Emma out of the way, landing with her gracefully at the other side of the kitchen, as Luffy and Usopp crashed into Ace.

Garp just stood with his arms crossed, staring at the chaos that happened, and _trying_ not to lose his temper, but it was hard, especially when Luffy sprung up, and declared: "COOLEST ENTRANCE _EVER_!"

Garp was _just_ about to say something in response to this, when Emma suddenly let out a yelp, and a pink glow filled the kitchen.

Her compass was suspended in mid-air out in front of her, and was projecting another holographic image.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the image - Usopp and Chopper looked mesmerized, and Luffy looked eager to find his next Ally. Zoro and Nmai were just waiting, and Sumi was smiling.

Only Ace's eyes were on something _other_ than the image - he was glaring at Law, who was sitting against the opposite wall with Emma practically sitting in his lap. Ace knew that there was _no_ way that Law would've landed like that by accident, but Emma was too preoccupied with the image to notice where she was sitting.

The image showed a cat that was around the same size as Ace in his cat-form. It appeared to be a light colour, and had darker legs. Its tail was long and luxurious, and was reminiscent of a feather boa. There was a tuft of fur covering its left eye.

As they watched, the cat stretched, and rolled over onto its side on the big cushion it was lying on.

A hand reached out and petted the cat's neck, and it rubbed its head up against the hand.

The person picked up the cat and held it to her chest - the cat nuzzled up against her, and Usopp suddenly cried out: "Wait a minute! Rewind it, rewind it!"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "If I've said it once..." He muttered.

Emma shifted her gaze to Usopp. "Somebody you know, Usopp?"

He nodded. "Yes! At least, I'm _pretty_ sure - that's Kya!"

"Kya?" Emma repeated, blinking, as the image faded. "As in, your friend from the village you grew up in?"

"Yes!" Usopp replied. "I'm _sure_ that was her!"

"Will we be going to Usopp's home village next?" Chopper spoke up, sitting on the stool and swinging his legs out in front of him.

Emma and Luffy exchanged a glance, and then they nodded.

"We'll go tomorrow, I suppose." Emma said, standing up and moving so that she was facing everybody. She looked a little bit shy, being the center of attention. "I mean...I'll just tell my parents I'm spending the day with Ace...I'm sure that they'll let me."

"Well, here's hoping." Ace grinned, and held out his hand. "Want me to walk you out?"

Emma nodded, and was reaching for his hand, when Law interrupted.

"Emma-San," he said, getting to his feet as well. "I wonder if I might talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Emma replied.

"Outside." Law added pointedly, and this time Emma got it.

"Oh...umm, okay then..." She said slowly.

Ace looked annoyed. "About _what_?" He asked Law, a warning in his voice.

Law smirked. "If I could tell you that, then I wouldn't need to talk to her outside now, would I?" His smirk widened as Ace's scowl deepened. He walked to the door, and held out his hand, which Emma cautiously took.

"See you tomorrow, Emmy." Said Luffy, as his hand stretched and snaked around Nami to get to the cooking pot.

Nami slapped his hand away with a wooden spoon, but called cheerfully over her shoulder: "Have a good night, Emma!"

"Bye, Emma!" Garp, Usopp and Chopper chorused.

Emma smiled, as she walked down the hall but, the further away from the warm glow of the kitchen she got, the colder she felt. It didn't help that Law, walking beside her, had exceptionally cold hands. His grip was also very firm, and he appeared to be leading her out to her own car, not the other way around.

At last, when they were outside in the chilly air, he stopped and turned around.

"Okay, Law-San, what is it?" Emma wanted to know, wishing that he'd give her her hand back.

Law's gaze pierced into Emma's very soul, making her falter on whatever it was that she'd been planning to say to him after this. There was a strangely possessive look in his eyes, one that reminded her of a jaguar that was stalking its prey...or, an incubus.

"Have you forgotten," Law said to her in, a low voice. "That you_ owe_ me?"

"Owe you for _what_?" Emma snapped. "For sparing Coby's life? News flash, Law-San - you already stole my first kiss!" She instantly regretted having said that, because the look of surprise on the young surgeon's face told her that he hadn't been aware of that detail up until now, despite the fact that she'd _told_ them that she'd never had a boyfriend.

Law then yanked her very close to him, so that she was pressed up against his chest, and she had to look up at him to see him - _why_ was he so God damn _tall_?!

"I don't regret what I did." He informed her. A cold breeze drifted about them and, despite her warm clothes, Emma shivered. "Emma-San...did it ever occur to you that _I_ may have liked you before _he_ did?"

"Before who?" She muttered. "Ace-Chan?" She saw Law's eyes darken. "Why should _you_ care who I'm going out with?"

"Because I want it to be me."

Whatever she'd been expecting to hear, it _certainly_ hadn't been that! Emma's heart thudded in her chest, and she suddenly had a sinking feeling in the back of her mind. _Oh no...it's Twilight-Syndrome! But...which one is Edward and which one is Jacob?_

Law's expression darkened slightly, but his eyes were burning in a way that was very similar - and yet, so different - from Ace's. He put a hand under Emma's chin, and tilted it up, as he leaned down towards her. There was that medical disinfectant scent again. "And, I intend to _get_ what I want, one way or the other."

His kiss was as unexpected as the last one had been, but there was a certain degree of fierceness to it this time, too. Like he was trying to make up for what he _knew_ must've happened between Emma and Ace that day.

Emma, once again, was frozen to the spot, although she jumped a little bit when she felt the tip of Law's tongue trace against her bottom lip, and she found herself blushing despite herself.

She felt Law's hand leave her chin, and trail down her throat, before it stopped at the white scar on her neck. His hand lingered - he was curious.

Just then, as he drew back from her, something shiny came flying out of the darkness, catching Emma around the neck and half-dragging her away from Law.

"Emma-Chan!" Sumi chirped, the dark spell caused by Law's actions broken, much to Emma's relief. "I almost forgot to tell you - Nami-Chan and I are coming for a sleep-over soon, so you'd better hurry up and introduce us to your parents or else they'll be in for a surprise!"

"O-okay..." Emma stammered, feeling awkward and embarrassed and relieved, all at the same time. "I-I'd better be going now SUMI-CHAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE _THOSE_?!" She cried, pointing at Sumi in shock as she jumped back.

"Huh? Huh?" Sumi looked herself over, before glancing at her chest.

"No, not those, _those_!" Emma jabbed her finger at the two white, feathery appendages projecting from other side of the younger girl's back. "Are those..._wings_?!"

Sumi shrugged, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Huh? Oh yeah, these - I ate the _Hito-Hito No Mi, Model: Tenshi_."

Well, that explained the small halo of light around the nurse's head, and the beautiful pearly-pinkish wings that just looked _magnificent_, but Emma still had one more thing to say. "You never told me that you had a Devil Fruit power, Sumi-Chan."

Sumi grinned. "You never asked." She replied.

Emma just shook her head. "Don't be pedantic, Sumi-Chan." She said, as she got into her car. Winding the window down, she added: "I'll see you tomorrow, Sumi-Chan...umm, Law-San...good night..." She said quietly, before driving away at nearly full-speed.

The nurse and the doctor watched her go, before Sumi turned to Law, her face suddenly darkening, and a fierce expression in her teal eyes. coupled with her wings, this made her look quite formidable, but Law was not afraid.

He just crossed his arms, as the blonde stated quietly, and in a dark and dangerous voice: "I'm watching you, Trafalgar Law. You will _not_ ruin this for Ace-Kun, understand?"

"Transparently." Law smirked.

* * *

On-board the Moby Dick, Whitebeard sat on the deck, and watched as Marco, in his phoenix form, drew a circle on the deck with sacred flames. It was the duty of Mythical Zoan-Users, whether they liked it or not, to know this area of science, if you could call it that. Believing in the gods was one thing. Knowing how to communicate with them was another.

Marco had known of this ability for awhile, which was why he had done the research, and how he had come across one half of the compass that was now in Emma's possession. He didn't like the chances of Sengoku _not_ knowing about this ability, which was why they were upping the ante.

When the circle was complete, Marco landed on the deck beside Whitebeard's chair, and waited.

At once, the thirteen candles that were placed at points around the magic circle were lit by themselves, and a golden vortex appeared from within the center of the circle. And, from within that vortex, came a figure.

It was a woman, one with flawless skin and soft dark brown hair. Her eyes, which were hazel-brown with blue speckles, were fixed on the two figures that had summoned her forth. She wore a long white dress, which was plain and had a scoop neck. A gold necklace with linked chains hung around her neck, and she wore a wedding band.

Her face was calm - there was no degree of pain or suffering that her face had held eight years ago, and she carried with her a beautiful and gentle grace.

"Hello, Marco." She said, in her gentle voice. "Edward." She added, nodding to him.

Edward nodded back to her, his yellow eyes gazing at her calmly. "Hello, Grace. You're looking well."

"The after-life does wonders for you, Edward - which, by the way, you would _know_, if a certain _somebody_ hadn't interfered with the timeline." Grace stated. She smiled. "I knew that she would."

"I'm so very glad she did." Whitebeard replied. "It gives me the opportunity to keep an eye on those two brats."

Grace laughed, a beautiful sound. "Oh, come now, Edward, let us get down to business. I know that you did not call me forth just to talk about _that_." She sobered slightly. "You're worried about Infinity, aren't you?"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. OMFG, Ace met the parents...and, they actually APPROVED of him! -Insert Hallelujah chorus here-  
**

**. I want a Devil Fruit power like Sumi's...it lets her eavesdrop on strange conversations all the time!**

* * *

_KaiF . Raphaella - I'm glad that my story could brighten your bad day at school! Keep your chin up, girl!_

_WindWhistle21 - are they lucky or what? Don't feel like the bad guy JUST yet (that's Law in this chapter, for being too forceful again!). ^^_

_MsWildLuck - wow, that'll keep Boa busy for HOURS! Thanks for the review!_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - I think that I shall run for the caves, as she might not think to look for me there! hopefully, Boa won't look there, either - what is it with you people and threatening to sic Boa Hancock on me all the time?! She'd ANNIHILATE me! And, yes, all of those security cameras are out to get them...damn those security cameras! *Shakes fist angrily*_

_Cocoa Liddell - when did Ace ever NOT do anything crazy?! Lol, you'll just have to wait and see! Thanks for reviewing!_

* * *

Thanks to the following people for Favving:  


707cloud, AiSoraix3, Cocoa Liddel, Requeim of the White knights, Salimiome, cicizchan, grimmjowsgirl1, Kouralia, StarPup, hector4349, lunarqua, sakuravampire-aqua, Mugiwara Otome, dougal92, becky157689, X . Creature . X . Enchained X and xForeverGamerx.

* * *

Thanks to the following people for Following:  


707cloud, AiSoraix3, Requeim of the White knights, grimmjowsgirl1, hector4349, lunarqua, Mailumia, Mugiwara Otome, Kira440, MusicOfMadness, Katharinie, Jennybot19, WarriorsSoul7, X . Creature . X . Enchained X and xForeverGamerx.


	16. Good Chef, Bad Chef

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Good Chef, Bad Chef

* * *

When Emma woke up the next morning to her alarm going off, at first she wasn't sure why she had set it. Then, everything came crashing back to her, and she jumped up, realising that it was 'go and find another cat day'. She quickly got dressed in black jeans and her 'toughen up princess' singlet. She grabbed a black scarf and her long black jacket, since it seemed cold out, and hurried out to the kitchen, intent on getting out of the house _without_ waking her parents - she would leave them a note._  
_

She went through the games room, singing to herself. "_We, are...two in a million, we've got all, the love, we could be given, if the w_-" She trailed off, when she walked into the lounge-room, and both her parents were up. "Aah! What are _you_ guys doing up?!" She cried.

Lee sipped her coffee, trying to hide a smile. "That's what I'm asking _you_ - it's only, what," she checked the kitchen clock. "Eight o'clock?"

Emma shifted uncomfortably. "Umm...oh...right, well...okay, fine, I'm going out today!" She blushed.

"I figured as much." Lee flicked open a newspaper. "Mind telling me where you're going?"

Emma gulped. "Umm...out...with...Ace-Chan..." She said the last part quietly, but her Mother heard her.

Lee raised an eyebrow. "What did you call him?"

Emma cringed - damn lack of honorifics in Australia! "Umm, it's...it's a term we use, some of the guys and me...it's a Japanese thing."

Lee nodded. "Uh-huh. Just don't overdo it."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, as she made herself a coffee.

"Don't talk about _just_ anime, like you do at home." Lee said, and Emma bristled.

Turning around, she said: "Ace-Chan happens to _like_ anime." Well, that was _sort of_ true. When he'd been staying here, he'd been really into the One Piece anime, and he'd watched a few episodes of _Dragon Ball Z_ (maybe they should hang out with Peter and Ashlee, since they watched DBZ?).

Lee sighed. "Don't get narky with me. What time can we expect you home?"

"Hmm, not sure yet..." Emma replied carefully, pouring her coffee into the traveling cup. "Sometime late - we're going to spend the whole day out."

"How can you? You haven't got any money." Lee pointed out.

Emma gritted her teeth. "Then, can I have my card back?"

"Absolutely _not_." Lee said firmly, putting down her newspaper.

"_Mum_!" Emma couldn't believe it. "Why not?"

"Because you don't need it."

"But you just said..."

"You haven't got any money, anyway." Lee stated. "You still owe your Father and I five hundred dollars."

"Can't we just forget about that?" Emma asked, her shoulders slumping.

"No." Lee stood up. "You've _got_ to learn some responsibility before you can start doing these things, Emma."

"Mum, I'm twenty-three nearly." Emma said hotly, grabbing her bag off the kitchen table. "I go to TAFE, and I have a boyfriend now!" There, she'd said it. _I've also been to sea and to war, but she doesn't need to know that._ She crossed her arms, knowing that she probably looked like a stubborn little kid right now, but she couldn't help it - she was shaking with anger. She'd been in _such_ a good mood when she'd woken up, after a nightmare-free night, and only the thought of seeing Ace later on stopped her from completely screaming at her Mother. Yelling wouldn't do her any good right now. As Sarah sometimes said, and as Shanks said once: You have to choose your fights.

"If you carry on like this, you're _not_ going out today."

Yup, better to just steer clear of this one. But...

"I thought you _liked_ Ace-Chan..." Emma said over her shoulder, as she grabbed her mobile phone.

"We _do."_ Bruce spoke up from the kitchen. "But..."

"With a boyfriend comes responsibility." Lee finished.

Emma rolled her eyes. _Oh, sure, they tell me that _now_...then again, I suppose they've never really had a reason to tell me this before..._

She thought about this as she continued singing on her way down to the car, unawares that both of her parents could hear her.

"Make sure you call me when you get there!" Lee reminded her.

"_Never had a dream come true, until the day that I found you_..."

* * *

Emma parked the car on the street, and got out, locking her car. She turned around, and hitched her bag up onto her shoulder, before taking a deep breath. She was immediately glomped by Sumi.

"Emma-Chan!" Sumi complained. "They won't let me go with you guys!"

"Huh? What?" Emma gently pushed the blonde nurse off of her. "What do you mean? To Syrup Village?" Sumi nodded. "Who said that?"

Sumi pouted. "Ace-Kun and Garp."

"Well, why not?" Emma wanted to know.

Sumi waved her hand distractedly. "Oh, something about the Marines finding us, and me getting killed, but that's not the point!" She crossed her arms. "I'm a pirate, and I've been to sea and to war - I think I can handle a simple search and rescue mission!"

Emma stared at her for a moment, before she was distracted by a crash that came from inside the warehouse. She and Sumi exchanged a glance, and then hurried inside, to find Luffy running through the warehouse with a plate of bacon in his hands, and Garp and Ace were chasing after him.

"They've been chasing him for twenty minutes now." Sumi remarked, smiling. "The bacon's probably stone-cold by now." She added, and Luffy froze.

"Oro?" He looked down at the plate, just as Garp and Ace caught up to him, crash-tackling him. The plate went flying out of his hands, and was caught by Sumi.

She held the plate out to Emma. "Bacon, Emma-Chan?"

"Oh, _arigatoo_, Sumi-Chan." Emma accepted some of the bacon. Then: "Heeey, wait a minute..." She said suspiciously. "You're not trying to bribe me into letting you come with us, _are_ you?"_  
_

Sumi grinned slyly. "_Maybe_..."

Emma already had the bacon in her mouth, and was chewing thoughtfully. She swallowed. "Well...it _might_ have worked..." She admitted.

Sumi looked thrilled, but Ace and Garp were immediately there to say no.

"She can't go with you, it's too dangerous!" Garp protested.

Sumi glared up at him. "Hey, old man, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I'm not some wimpy Marine, after all!"

"Wimpy?!" Garp yelled. "You think that the Marines are _wimpy_?!"_  
_

"Sure do!" Sumi replied, tilting her chin up. "I hate World Nobles more, though." Her hand went to her neck. A sudden thought struck her: _What if I get captured again?_ She glanced at Ace, but he was too busy gazing endearingly at either Emma or the bacon to notice that she'd sobered.

Emma, however, noticed but, before she could ask anything, Usopp suddenly made an entrance, or at least tried to, anyway. The problem was the huge backpack he had on his shoulders, and Emma had a sudden vision of him rolling all the way down a hill, and being stopped by Luffy and Zoro.

"This _isn't_ a camping trip, Usopp." Nami scolded, coming in through a different doorway. She wore a very light backpack, that probably had only three things in it, and a scowl, which brightened when she saw Emma. "Emma, tell him that it's not."

"It's not." She told Usopp automatically, and he slouched. "What have you _got_ in there?" She added, in a kinder voice. Poor Usopp was probably just excited about going back to to his home, and didn't want to forget anything. Maybe he could bring a few things along?

"Well, I've got a compass, cooking fuel, flash light, one of those knives with all the things..."

"Forget it. Leave them." Emma would have sweat-dropped, had she been in an anime or a fan-fiction. _Where did he _get_ all that stuff?_

"I'm ready to go!" Chopper chirped up, appearing from behind Nami, with his little backpack full of medical supplies on his back. "I can't wait to see your village, Usopp!" He added, and Usopp's expression immediately cleared.

"Yeah!" The long-nosed young man grinned, trying to hitch up his bulbous backpack. "So, are we going or what?"

"Not with that you're not!" Nami snapped, smacking him on the back of the head.

Sumi, meanwhile, seemed to have vanished, but Law had shown up. He strolled into the room, looking perfectly at ease despite Nami hitting Usopp and Garp scolding Luffy and Ace gazing endearingly at Emma.

Ace, however, had a sudden thought. "Hey, isn't it kind of redundant to have _two_ doctors going along?"

Law gave Ace a sharp look. "Problem?" He asked calmly.

"Not unless you remove the redundancy." Ace replied, just as calmly.

"Ooh, big words - when did you get time to look them up, narcoleptic?" Law smirked.

"When I was browsing through Emiko's bookcase yesterday." Was Ace's answer.

They both turned to Emma who, at that time, was kneeling down so that she could speak to Chopper.

"I'll make sure to help if anybody gets hurt." Chopper was saying.

"Aww..." Emma grinned. "You are...so..._cute_!"

Chopper blushed. "H-hey...calling me cute won't make me h-happy or anything...jerk!" He danced a happy little squiggle dance.

Emma giggled, completely taken in by the utter cuteness of it all.

Law and Ace stared at her for a moment, before turning back to each other.

They were _just_ about to resume their argument, when Luffy piped up with: "Okay! Time to go!"

"Yeah, let's hurry." Usopp agreed. Since he had finally shed his backpack, Nami let him go. She came with him as he walked over to where Emma was.

"Wait, where's Zoro?" Emma looked around, and then spotted him coming out of the kitchen. She clicked her fingers. "Come on, sword-boy, let's go."

He glared at her.

She cringed. "Oh. My apologies." She bowed.

"Don't bow to _him_!" Nami rolled her eyes. She clicked _her_ fingers. "Zoro, hurry up - you're holding us back!"

His glare was wasted on her.

As they all knelt down so that they were at Chopper's level and able to still hold hands, Emma glanced up at Garp, who nodded to her, and she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

As she felt her powers begin to take effect, however, something seemed off...she wasn't sure what it was, until she heard Garp shout: "WAIT!"

But, it was too late, because they were already gone.

* * *

The eight of them landed in a heap on the steep slope of a shore.

"Owch!" Nami complained. "Hey, shouldn't we bring pillows with us if we're gonna keep doing this? The ribbons...they do _nothing_!"

"What are _you_ complaining about?!" Zoro demanded to know, from the bottom of the pile. "_You're_ the one who's on top!"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Nami replied, not sounding very sorry at all, as she hopped off of the pile, and left the men to get themselves up. "Okay, is everyone present and accounted for?" She began doing a head-count. "Me, Luffy, Ace, Law, Sumi, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper...okay, yep, that's everybody..." She trailed off. "Wait a minute..."

Everyone's eyes widened, and they looked over at the blonde-haired nurse. "SUMI?!"

Sumi grinned. "_Mochiron_." She leaned down and picked up Emma's compass and necklace. "Does this happen every time?"

Nami pounced at her, and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her furiously. "Why did you come here?! This isn't your mission! You had no right to tag along! Explain yourself right now! No, better yet, just go home right now!"

Ace calmly got between them. "No way of sending her back until we find Emiko, so we'd better start searching for her." He gave Sumi a Look. "And _you_..._best behaviour_, understand?"

Sumi rolled her teal eyes. "Coming from you, that doesn't sound right..." She noticed the way that he was looking at her, and sobered up a bit. "Sure thing, Ace-Kun."

_Oh sure, pay attention to _him_._ Nami thought wryly.

Luffy was looking around. "We need to find..." Everybody looked at him. "The meat guy! I remember he had a great selection of veal medallions here last time!"

Everybody else groaned.

* * *

The blonde cat with the luxurious tail stretched, and padded across the kitchen. He loved spending his time in here even though, at the moment, he couldn't really cook without opposable thumbs. Oh well. He still liked to watch the chef of the mansion prepare meals, though he had to refrain from offering his advice.

Being the cat that belonged to the mistress of the house certainly had its perks - like being allowed to sleep in her bedroom.

Of course, she didn't know that he was really a human. She didn't need to know that, and it wasn't like he was being perverted about it or anything.

As he walked across the kitchen, he was suddenly startled by a flash of bright light that seemed to come...from the nearby cupboard? Walking over to it, the blonde cat looked curiously at it, before pressing the button that opened up the door.

At once, something red crash-tackled him, and he landed on the tiled floor with whatever had just appeared in the cupboard on top of him.

Shaking his head, the blonde cat blinked, and stared up into the gold eyes of another cat. It was red, with white markings on its face and, due to the red ribbon that was tied around its neck, he assumed that made this cat a girl.

"Umm..." She said softly, closing her eyes and shaking her own head.

She could _talk_!

"_Mellorine_!"

The red cat gasped, and opened her eyes very quickly. "_S-Sanji_?!" She blinked, her face very close to his.

"You even know my _name_!" Sanji silently cheered. He was hoping, all of a sudden, that this cat was really a human, just like he was. Oh, please, say she was really a _human_! "And, may I know _your_ name, my dear?" He asked her, suddenly _really_ loving the position that he was in right now._  
_

"Umm..." She said quietly. "It's..."

The door to the kitchen suddenly opened, and footsteps could be heard.

Sanji watched as the red cat leapt off of him like she was on fire, and darted back into the cupboard. He heard the clatter of a mixing bowl, and then the cupboard door shut.

Kaya, the beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed owner of the mansion, came into the kitchen, looking around. She spotted Sanji, who immediately stood up, and meowed a happy greeting to her. He liked the pretty, kind-natured girl.

"Oh, there you are." She smiled to him, and knelt down, putting her hand out to him.

He nuzzled against it, and then nodded towards the cupboard where the other cat had hidden, meowing again.

"Hmm? What is it?" Kaya asked, looking at the cupboard. "Something in there?" She opened up the cupboard.

Inside, an over-turned mixing bowl appeared to be shaking.

Kaya blinked, and then reached out and picked up the mixing bowl, which she set down beside her, as the red cat with the red ribbon looked up at her in panic.

"Oh, it's okay, I won't hurt you." Kya said reassuringly, putting her hands out to the new cat. "It's okay...come here..."

The red cat crept forwards, and then sat down, meowing softly.

"You're the second cat that's come here, after Chef." Kaya smiled, and the red cat glanced quickly at Sanji. "That's what I named him because he's always watching the chef cook meals." She tapped her chin with her finger, thoughtfully. "Hmm, now...what should I name you? How about Madoka?"

The cat shook her head, and then looked startled. Oops, that wasn't very cat-like now, was it?!

Kaya blinked. "Umm, okay, maybe not...hmm...how about Red-Hair?" The cat just sighed. "Okay, let's see then..."

The red cat meowed again, carefully stepping down from inside the cupboard, and looking up at Kaya curiously.

"Oh, I know!" Kaya smiled. "What about Grace? You look like a Grace."

The cat just looked up at her.

Just then, voices could be heard from within the mansion, and Kaya immediately began to look worried. "Oh dear, not again..." She stood up, and walked quickly out of the kitchen.

Sanji sat down, looking worried as well. "Not good...they've already been here twice this week..."

"Who?" The red cat asked him quickly. "Who is it?"

"The World Government has been showing up here, looking for people that aren't here." Sanji explained, not sure how much he should be telling this stranger, but he was surprised when her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh my God, no!" She cried. "They were serious..." She looked all around her. "What do I do?! What do I do?!"

"Hold on, calm down!" Sanji said quickly, not wanting the girl to be upset. "First off, who are you?"

She swallowed, and sat down again. "Okay...my name is Emma. Like you, I'm not really a cat, I'm a human."

"Emma-Chan..." Sanji sighed dreamily, and then he became serious. "Okay so, _how_ do you know that I'm not really a cat?"

"Because I know your crew." She replied, and he looked straight at her. Was she serious? Were Luffy and the others really okay? Seeing his expression, she clarified: "I happen to know that Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Chopper are in this town right now, and they're looking for you. I can explain more later but, right now..."

"They're in trouble." Sanji realised.

"Mmm." Emma nodded.

* * *

"Oh yeah, that was _go-od_!" Luffy cheered, as he finished his fifth helping of veal medallions at the Meshi Restaurant.

"Mmm, yes, this was exquisite." Sumi agreed, smiling happily. "I'd almost forgotten what it's like to eat like this again."

"You shouldn't even be here at all." Nami muttered, angrily stabbing at her meal.

"Mmm...are you going to eat that?" Luffy asked her.

Nami turned slowly to him, and nodded. "Uh-huh."

Just then, the door to the restaurant was swung open and, although the group couldn't see who had just come in, they heard the voices.

"I saw them with my own eyes!" Somebody said.

"It's _unbelievable_!" Another added.

Then, one exclaimed: "What on _Earth_ would World Nobles be doing _here_?!"

Sumi gasped, and stood up, her face draining of all the remaining colour that it had, to be replaced with a very pale colour and terrified look.

"See, _this_ is why I didn't want you to come along!" Ace snapped quietly, as they all stood up.

"What _are_ World Nobles doing here, though?" Usopp asked quietly, anger creeping into his voice. "They'd better not do anything to disrupt the peace of my village, or they'll have you guys to answer to!"_  
_

Zoro rolled his eyes.

A nearby villager overheard them. "They came here with the Marines who have been patrolling these waters recently." He explained.

"That still doesn't explain what they're doing here." Nami said, keeping her voice down.

"They say that one of the Saints is looking for his fourteenth wife or something like that." The villager replied, and then looked at Nami and Sumi. "You two would do well to keep your heads down." He added.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Sumi whispered, looking terrified.

"I don't see why they'd be looking for his wife in a place like this." Nami said and, ignoring the glare that she got from Usopp, continued: "I mean, they can hardly stand to breathe the air that we 'commoners' breathe, so..."

"There's many strange things that have been happening around here, Miss." The villager told her. "There have been Marines and World Nobles and Government Agents coming and going as of late." he looked at Usopp. "Usopp, you and your friends should leave out the back way."

They all nodded, and Usopp led the way. Sumi was shaking so badly that she had to hang onto Ace.

Nami noticed that her hand was at her neck again, and she looked more scared than Nami could ever remember seeing her.

Ace was grim-faced, and Luffy recognized that look - what had happened between Sumi and the World Nobles?

* * *

Emma and Sanji peeked around the corner, looking down at the first-floor of the mansion.

Kaya was standing next to Merry, and talking to two Government Agents. They knew that the two strangers were Government Agents, because of the symbols on the lapels of their jackets.

"I keep telling you, we haven't seen anybody like that here." Kaya said quietly, and calmly. "Now, please, I must ask that you leave."

"Yes, please leave." Merry added, more firmly.

"Look, we've been doing our research." One agent said, in a gruff voice. "We're aware that you," he looked at Kaya. "Were once friends with a member of the Straw Hat Crew - Usopp."

Kaya looked confused. "Yes, he grew up here and we were friends, but I don't see what that has to do with me now - Usopp hasn't been here in months, he's out at sea."

The two agents exchanged a glance, and then nodded. "You're going to have to come with us then, Miss." He reached for her arm.

Merry's eyes widened, and he moved to place himself between Kaya and the two men. "Now see here! This is _highly_ inappropriate!"

Sanji's eyes (well, the eye that was visible, at least) were flashing. "Yes, how _dare_ they treat a lady like this!"

Emma gasped, and moved in front of him quickly. "Don't do it, Sanji-Kun! It's like jumping into a bee's nest!" She whispered fiercely, as the two agents pulled out pistols.

"Don't make this hard for us, old man." One of the agents stated firmly.

"It's alright, Merry." Kaya said, still calm. "I'll go with them, and then they'll see that this is all just a misunderstanding. I've done nothing wrong, and I know this."

"That remains to be seen." One of the agents said, grabbing her arm roughly.

Emma had to jump on top of Sanji to stop him from doing something reckless.

Merry spoke forcefully. "Then, I must ask that you allow me to go with you, as well."

"Not going to happen." One of the agents, the one not holding onto Kaya, stated coldly. "We have orders to apprehend all those associated with the Straw Hat Pirates, and that's just what we're going to do." He held the door open, not realising that Merry was also associated with Usopp, or deeming him too unimportant to take with.

"Let's go, Miss." The other agent led Kaya away.

She glanced over her shoulder, and smiled reassuringly at Merry. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She told him, as the door closed behind her.

Merry sank to his knees. "Kaya-Sama..."

Emma and Sanji looked at him, and then Emma got off of Sanji. "Come on, Sanji-Kun - we need to find Luffy and the others."

Sanji nodded, and got to his feet. "Right - lead the way, Emma-Chwan."

_How come I've suddenly got '-Chwan'?_ Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay...I don't know my way around here, though, so let's just hope I don't got lost..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure that you're not anything like that mossball-swordsman." Sanji assured her, and she tried not to laugh. Oh, this was going to be interesting...

* * *

Life is not kind. Life can be mean.

Today, life was _not_ being nice to the Straw Hat Pirates.

They were trying to make their way discreetly out the back way, past the crowd that had gathered to watch the World Nobles go by. It still seemed so strange that World Nobles could be here, in the tiny Syrup Village that seemed almost too peaceful to be disrupted with such big world matters.

Usopp, however, stopped.

The others turned around questioningly.

"Usopp?" Nami looked at him strangely, seeing that he was shaking.

"I can't allow them to be here..." Usopp muttered, looking angry. "Not here, in my village. This is _not_ Sabaody Archipelago...they shouldn't _be_ here."

"So...what do you want to do about it?" Luffy asked him, knowing full-well what Usopp intended on doing.

"What we did before..." His knees were shaking, though.

"Usopp, your knees are shaking." Chopper pointed out.

"I...I know!" Usopp tried to stop them from shaking. "But...I was just so happy to be back here, seeing all of these familiar faces! This has _really_ ruined it for me, though!"

"Usopp, calm down, we'll stop them." Zoro said calmly. "We can do this without making a scene, can't we?"

Everyone just stared at him.

He sighed. "Okay, fine, whatever."

Sumi looked horrified. "Wait, wait, wait...you guys are _actually_ going to mess with _World Nobles_?!" When they nodded, she looked at Ace. "Ace-Kun, tell them no!"

Nami gave her a Look. "What's the matter, Sumi? What are you so scared of?"

Sumi glanced at Ace again, and then looked down at the ground. "I...I suppose I should tell you..." She muttered, and Ace put a comforting hand on her shoulders. "B-before I joined Ace-Kun's crew, back when I was twelve...I...I was a...a slave...to a World Noble..."

Nami gasped, and Usopp and Chopper looked stunned. Luffy had no expression on his face whatsoever, Zoro looked stoic, and Law was nodding like he had expected her to say that.

"That was how she got her Devil Fruit power." Ace explained quietly. "And, her scars." He added, and she nodded.

"See, you should've just stayed back at the warehouse." Nami scolded her gently. "I wish you had told us about this sooner." She added, a bit more kindly.

"Hmm..." Sumi stared down at her feet.

Just then, a voice shouted out: "You there! Stop!"

Luffy and Zoro exchanged a glance.

"Do we know that voice?" Luffy wanted to know.

"Yeah..." Zoro said slowly. "That one guy...from Sabaody...what was his name...? Charlie-something...?"

"Charloss?" Luffy suggested.

"Yeah, that's it." Zoro nodded. "We should stop him." He added casually. "Before he picks his next wife."

"That woman shall be my next wife!" Charloss declared. "Bring her to me!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that," another voice said. "She's a suspect in a World Government affair."

"Are you defying me?!" Charloss cried.

"_This_ is why I don't like World Nobles." Sumi muttered.

"Hey, we don't like them very much either." Nami pointed out, just as a trio of voices shouted out in unison.

"Leave Kaya-San alone!"

Usopp's eyes widened, as Luffy looked shocked, Zoro cringed, and Nami gasped.

"Well, so much for staying undercover!" Zoro muttered, as they raced towards the scene.

* * *

"Stop, wait!" Kaya cried, rushing forwards and standing in front of Carrot, Onion and Pepper, with her arms out on either side of her. "Don't do it, they're just children!" She then gasped, as a golden pistol was pointed at her.

"I thought you wanted to _marry_ her, you _baka_." Charloss' sister, Shalulia, muttered, rolling her eyes. Like Charloss, she was wearing a square-shaped bubble over her head, which wasn't the same one as the ones they wore in Sabaody. _I didn't want to come here, this place is full of nothing but commoners and riff-raff..._

People began gasping, and pleading.

"No, please, not Kaya!"

"Kya-San!"

"Please, don't do this to her!"

Kya was scared, but not as scared as she would have been prior to her encounter with a certain terrible pirate crew. Her run-in with the Black Cat Pirates had strengthened her resolve to protect all of those who were dear to her, even against the World Nobles that _clearly_ did _not_ belong here. She had kept her promise to Usopp, and not told anybody what had almost happened. However, something in her had changed, and people could see that. They knew that it must have something to do with Usopp (people could be very perceptive when they wanted to be).

Kaya said, in a strong voice: "You are disrupting the peace of this village. You should leave now, please."

"How _dare_ you speak to me like that, woman!" Charloss cried, gritting his teeth as he pointed his pistol at her. "Women should be seen and not heard!"

He fired a bullet at her, and people screamed.

Kaya gasped, and closed her eyes, but she didn't move from her position.

There was a slight clang, and Kya opened her eyes, as people gasped in shock.

Where was the bullet?

Kaya looked around, and then she spotted it, lying on the ground several feet away from her, next to...a small iron ball?

"Wha...?"

"Well spoken, Kaya!" A familiar voice to her called, and she looked over in shock, to see...

"Usopp!"

He grinned, having deflected the bullet with his sling-shot. "You expected somebody else?"

"I'm here, too." Nami said, from a different position in the crowd.

"Me too." Zoro was standing across from her.

"Remember me?" Luffy stepped out of the crowd, and grinned. "We thought we'd drop in and say hi."

"It's Straw Hat Luffy!" Somebody shouted.

"And Usopp! Welcome back, Usopp!" People cried.

"Yes, welcome back!" Carrot, Onion and Pepper cheered, hiding back in the crowd (hey, they were only kids, after all).

_They must have heard about all of my brave adventures on the sea, and _that's_ why they're so happy to see me!_ Usopp thought, smiling proudly.

Charloss looked like he was about to faint, as he staggered back. "It's you! The Straw Hat Pirates who hurt me in Sabaody!" He cried, and then looked at the two Government Agents. "Don't just stand there, shoot them! Shoot them!"

Usopp cringed, as the two agents drew their pistols but, in a second, Zoro had cut them down with his swords.

Luffy was looking calmly at Charloss, but there was a certain amount of anger in his eyes. "Oh, yeah, I remember _you_." He said, nodding. "I never expected to see you here, though." He added.

People suddenly gasped, because Shalulia was standing next to Kaya (without standing _too_ close to her), and had a pistol aimed at the blonde-haired girl's head. "You Straw Hat Pirates didn't forget how I said that I'd make you pay for humiliating me and my family, did you?!" Her eyes hardened, as her finger squeezed around the trigger. "_Now_ I'll make you pay with this pathetic piece of trash's life amasu." She squeezed the trigger fully, and fired a bullet._  
_

Sumi suddenly came flying out of nowhere, grabbing Kaya and pushing her out of the way of the bullet, which grazed against Sumi's shoulder. She bit back a scream, knowing that it wouldn't do any good, as she and Kaya landed roughly on the dirt ground.

"Are you okay?" Sumi asked Kaya, who nodded, but then her brown eyes widened at the sight of Sumi's shoulder. "It's fine, don't worry about me." Sumi stood up, and so did Kaya.

Sumi turned, glaring at the two World Nobles.

"Women should be seen and not heard, is that it?" She asked, her voice shaking - whether from anger or from fear, nobody knew. "Let me tell you something then - that's exactly what _he_ said to me, way back then." Her fists were clenched and, as they watched, she activated her Devil Fruit powers. Her wings unfurled on either side of her back, and the lightly glowing halo appeared around her head.

The crowd, which had moved back, was staring on in shock. They had never had _anything_ like this happen to them before - first World Nobles, then the return of Usopp and his crew-mates that were suddenly big-shot pirates, and now a mystical-looking _angel_ girl! It was proof that their world was changing, and them with it.

Usopp was also shaking slightly, from anger at the way his village's peace had been disrupted.

Shalulia was glaring angrily at Sumi. "You little bitch su!" She snapped. She made a big show of rolling up her left sleeve, to reveal a Baby Den-Den Mushi.

Sumi's eyes widened in horror. "She's calling an Admiral!" She gasped, as the blood began to drip down her shoulder.

"No, she's not." Ace said calmly, suddenly standing beside Shalulia, who gasped and jumped back, but Law was there to intercept her.

"The last thing we went is _them_ getting involved." Law smirked, grabbing Shalulia's wrist, and allowing Ace to remove the Baby Den-Den Mushi from it, much to her complete horror.

"Let _go_ if me, you filthy low-life commoners!" She screeched. "Charloss, don't just stand there, _do_ something su!"

Charloss rolled his eyes, and lazily reached for the Baby Den-Den Mushi on his own wrist but, before he could do anything, two furry shapes came flying out of nowhere, latching onto his arm and biting down - _hard_. Charloss screamed, and flailed, as the two cats and the Baby Den-Den Mushi came flying off his wrist.

The cats landed on all-fours, and the red cat immediately began to spit out the blood. "Eww, yuck, I got some in my mouth!" She complained.

Ace's eyes widened. "_Emiko_?"

Sanji dropped the Baby Den-Den Mushi on the ground (free of its wrist-watch-like band, it immediately made a break for freedom). "You did fine, Emma-Chwan." He said, carefully licking his black paws.

"_Sanji_?" Nami blinked._  
_

Sanji immediately bounded over to her. "Oh, Nami-Swan!" He gushed. "You're here!"

Kaya was looking between Nami and Sanji. "Umm...Chef...?"

Sanji glanced up at her. "I apologize, Kaya-Chan, for not telling you the truth."

Nami stomped on Sanji a bit, realisation suddenly dawning on her face. "What have you been _doing_, huh?!"

"Oww, Nami-Swaaaan..."

Kaya looked confused. "What do you...mean?" She wanted to know.

The Straw Hat Pirates cringed slightly. Usopp looked about ready to kill Sanji.

Emma, meanwhile, had gone over to Sumi. Sumi looked down at Emma, and then stooped down, and held the compass out to her. She touched it with her little white paw, and the pinkish-red light emitted from it. When it touched Sanji his body, with its head still under Nami's foot, transformed back into a human, much to everybody's shock.

Kaya stared at the man that had once been a cat, taking in the pinstripe suit, the short, cropped light blonde hair, the curly eyebrow, and the cigarette that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "He's a...human...?" She whispered, sinking to her knees.

"Sanji..." Usopp said, looking furious, as he tried to control his temper. "What did you...?"

"There's no time for this now." Zoro said suddenly, as the two Government Agents staggered to their feet, having regained consciousness.

"What now?" Nami asked worriedly. "If we don't do something, they're going to call for reinforcements."

Usopp was struggling to come up with a plan, just as Chopper appeared from within the crowd.

"Aurgh, a tanuki amasu!" Shalulia cried, pointing dramatically at it. "Kill it, kill it, or at least take it far, far away from here!"

"That's it!" Usopp exclaimed, as Chopper huffed at being called a racoon-dog. Usopp turned to the others. "As much as I hate to say this, killing them _wouldn't_ be the best idea, so we'll just remove them from this island!"

"How do you intend to do that, Usopp?" Zoro asked, as the Government Agents advanced on them.

Usopp grinned. "Just leave everything to Emma and Sumi."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Of course. Hey, but, you know what? That's not a bad idea. If we can just knock them out, then Sumi and Emma can take them off the island. Solves all our problems!"

"Why does it sound so simple when you say it like that?" Usopp wondered.

* * *

Back in Perth, Georgia clicked away on her I-Pad, drawing something that she wasn't sure what was...until she realised that it was the necklace she was supposed to get.

Sighing, Georgia set down her tablet, and lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. _Carmilla...what in the _world_ happened to you_? Rolling over onto her side, Georgia looked at the photo on her bedside table, of her and her sister. _if I can just get that necklace off of Emma Pax, then I can get to where my sister is...right?_ Georgia couldn't believe that her quiet and shy classmate had something to do with Carmilla's disappearance. _I have to get that necklace before the police move in._ Georgia realised. _Otherwise, I may lose my chance to save my sister, since the police said that they didn't want me interfering anyway..._ Georgia frowned. _I also have to do it before any of her friends show up..._

_How_ that weird anime that Emma and Sam both watched could be _real_, Georgia knew not, but it seemed that the police were starting to catch onto it, as well. Georgia had even watched a few episodes of it and, if it _did_ turn out to be real, then she didn't want her sister anywhere _near_ that other world! Not where there were sea dragons and crazy pirates everywhere! Carmilla was a policewoman, for sure, but she was still only human.

Georgia's eyes traveled to her calendar. The day after tomorrow was Tuesday...they had Chris' class in the afternoon, where they were working on developing their designs for their booklets...Georgia had a sudden vision of a heart with wings, making a _really_ good design for a jewellery booklet.

Georgia gritted her teeth, and then nodded. Little Death had said that she would find Georgia when Georgia secured that necklace. Then, and only then, would she help Georgia to go to that other world...

* * *

The people of Syrup Village looked shocked, as they stared at the two unconscious World Nobles and the two unconscious Government Agents.

As Nami and Usopp were apologizing to the villagers for all of this, and Luffy and Ace were watching Sanji and Zoro argue, and Law just stood back, smirking, Chopper was busy fixing up Sumi's shoulder.

"There." He said, smiling. "All better." He finished tying the bandage around the wound, which wasn't _too_ deep.

"Thanks, Chopper." Sumi replied, straightening up.

Kaya smiled down at Chopper. "You're a very good doctor." She told him.

Chopper blushed. "Saying that to me...doesn't make me...happy, or anything...jerk!" He began doing his happy little squiggle dance, and Kaya and Sumi both started laughing, as did Emma, who was watching.

Zoro looked over at them. "Hey, if you've got enough time to stand around chatting, why don't you do something about _them_ before they wake up?" He jerked his thumb over at the four who were unconscious, and Emma and Sumi nodded in unison.

"How are we going to get them up, though?" Sumi wanted to know.

Usopp looked thoughtful. "Oh, I know!" He pointed to the sky. "Sumi, if you take Emma with you and fly up there, then Emma can create some sort of net with her powers."

Nami looked impressed. "Good thinking, Usopp!" She praised him.

"She said 'good thinking'!" Usopp looked stunned.

"_And_ 'Usopp'." Luffy added.

Sumi reached down, and picked up Emma carefully in her arms. She then flew up into the sky and, thinking about it, quickly transferred the heart-shaped necklace to the red cat's neck.

Emma closed her eyes, and focused her powers. "_Ribon-Ribon No_..." She said, feeling the ribbons snake down from her body, and hearing peoples' gasps she knew that she must be doing it right. "_Net_!"

When she opened her eyes, Emma saw that her ribbons had formed a red and gold mesh net beneath her, big enough to carry all four bodies (which made it sound really weird) that were thrown unceremoniously into the net, which carried them out to the ocean.

"There!" Emma said, noticing a teensy-tinsy island, only about five acres, which was far enough away that the ones they were leaving there wouldn't try and get back to Syrup Village.

After they did what they had to do, Sumi and Emma started back to the island, but Sumi stopped, remaining motionless as she noticed somebody flying towards her.

"Who's that?" Emma squinted, her eyesight almost as bad as it was when she was in her human-form.

"It's...I think it's Marco!" Sumi cried, and indeed it was.

He was flying towards them, with that lazy grin on his face. "Hi, girls." He greeted them.

"Don't you 'hi' me!" Sumi snapped, but she was smiling. "Where have you _been_? And...how did you get back here?"

Marco fixed her with a steady gaze. "I think you know." He replied. "You have to have noticed it about your own powers as well."

Sumi nodded slowly. "Yeah...sort of...but, I didn't know that you had the ability to inter-dimensional travel."

"I don't," Marco replied. "But, _Oyaji_ and I summoned one of the goddesses - she helped us to all get back to this world."

"Oh, so everybody else is here, too?" Sumi realised.

"Yoi." Marco nodded. "We heard that the World Government has its eye on this Blue, so we're going to stay here for awhile and do whatever it is that we have to do."

"That's perfect, Marco-San," Emma spoke up, flicking her ears a few times. "Because, the guys just knocked out two Government Agents and two World Nobles, and we just dropped them off on that really big rock over there." She jabbed her tail in the direction.

Marco laughed. "I don't doubt that, but...Sumi... He turned serious all of a sudden, which was very rare for him. "How did you go with...?"

"I managed." She said tightly, and then sighed, when Emma glanced questioningly up at her. "Okay...Emma-Chan, you see..." She trailed off, and the only sound was the steady beat of her wings. "Before I joined Ace-Kun's crew, I was a slave to a World Noble."

Emma gasped, her hazel eyes finally understanding the scars around Sumi's neck.

"But," Sumi went on, in a much stronger voice. "Thanks to Ace-Kun, I was freed from all of that. Nobody will _ever_ take my freedom away from me again!" She declared. "I made that promise to somebody else..." She added, in a much softer voice, and neither Marco nor Emma missed the sadness in her tone. "He once said, that if he ever saw Saint Jalmack, he'd..."

"_Nyaaaa_!" Emma yelled, flailing suddenly at the mention of the World Noble's name, and this caused Sumi to accidentally let her go.

Emma plummeted but, before either of the flying Zoan-users could react, a figure in a sweeping black cloak appeared, catching her in his cold arms.

"Ssso, we meet again..." Twister said, looking down at Emma. "You've gotten ssstronger, but not _nearly_ ssstrong enough..."

"Yeah, so who've I gotta beat?" Emma wanted to know, digging her claws into his robes to avoid falling into the water - the ocean was right below her, after all, and was that a shark she saw?

"You know..." Twister intoned, holding out his scythe, which he used to draw circle in the air, and a picture appeared within it. It showed a pink-haired boy breaking a huge metal disc with a single punch, and then zoomed up closer to him to reveal that it was none other than Coby.

"What the Hell?!" Emma cried. "You mean I have to defeat _him_?!"

"Don't underessstimate him." Twister said, as they watched Coby suddenly falter, and looked around anxiously. The image panned out again, to reveal none other than Admiral Sakazuki, walking next to a tall woman with long black hair.

"Wait!" Emma cried, leaning so far forward that she was in danger of falling into the picture. "That's Carmilla! She's the police officer who arrested me back in my world, and I think she's the sister of one of my classmates!"

"Yesss..." Twister nodded. "You _mussst_ be careful of thisss classssssmate of yoursss."

Something about Twister's voice reminded Emma of Geoff Parry from Seven News, all of a sudden. "What do you mean? Does Georgia know about all of this?"

Instead of answering, Twister simply used his powers to transform her back into a human, and then he vanished, leaving her to fall again. In desperation, Emma yelled: "_Ribon-Ribon No Kite_!"

It was like her net-version, except that it appeared above her, not below her, and seemed to have the same usage as a hang-glider, which caught the wind and brought her back up to where Sumi and Marco were.

"We'd better get back, Emma-Chan." Sumi said, looking a little bit shocked.

"Hang on, wait a minute, Sumi-Chan." Emma said, as she drifted along slowly beside the two winged-people. "Listen, about what you said...about that World Noble..." She had a serious look on her face, and an intense look in her eyes. "If we meet him...I have my own reasons for hating him, and so do Luffy and Ace, even though they don't know it. So, don't worry - he won't ever hurt you again."

Sumi looked surprised, but then she smiled. "_Arigatoo_, Emma-Chan."

* * *

_~Flash-Back~_

_It was sunset, a beautiful orangey-sundown that made this particular part of the New World famous. Sumi climbed the ladder from the crow's nest, unable to keep her mind off of the various happenings. Ace had come here with the intent to _kill_ Whitebeard and now, all of a sudden, they were _joining his crew_?!_

_It seemed so strange to Sumi. Ace had always seemed so sure of himself, so confident, and now he looked lost, so much that she could hardly stand to see it. She wished that he would go back to his usual, enthusiastic and happy-self, but there seemed to be nothing that she could do about it. It didn't seem fair - Ace had already helped her _so much_ and now, when he really needed help, she couldn't be the one to do it._

_So wrapped up in these thoughts was the blonde-haired girl, that she didn't sense the presence in the deck below her. Her hand slipped suddenly, and she fell - her first reaction was to activate her Devil Fruit powers, which she did but, unfortunately, the deck was a lot closer than she thought it would be._

_So, she only had time to flip herself over, and that was when she saw the man standing beneath her - he was tall, with a brown pompadour hairstyle, and a black goatee. Well, there was nothing she could do, as she landed heavily on top of the man, knocking him to the deck as she landed on top of him._

_She was left sitting on top of him, blinking at him in shock._

_Her face paled - what would he say?_

_The man grinned, and said: "It looks like an angel has fallen out of the sky."_

_Sumi blushed, and carefully removed herself from the man, flying gently back so that she was standing on the deck, and watched as he got to his feet, and dusted off his posh uniform. She thought she recognized him - she'd seen him around a few times. Thatch, or something like that...he was a Commander, she thought..._

_Oh no! She'd just fallen onto a commander!_

_Sumi bowed hurriedly. "Ah, _gomenasai_, Thatch-Sama..." She was blushing furiously by this stage. Why, of all the people in the world, did it have to be a commander, and a handsome one at that?!_

_Thatch's laugh interrupted her thoughts. "No harm done." She glanced up - he was smiling at her. "Sumi, right? You're the nurse that came in with the Spade Pirates, aren't you?"_

_"Doctor." She corrected him, straightening up. "_Somebody_ had to be there when Ace-Kun needed CPR."_

_Thatch laughed again. "I can imagine." He told her. "I like you, Sumi - I think we should be friends. If you need any help around here, just let me know, okay kid?"_

_"O...kay..." She said slowly, shrugging, as she shook his hand. She smiled._

_If only she'd known how fated that one meeting had been..._

* * *

Sumi smiled, as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand, with her elbow propped up on the windowsill. They were at Kaya's house (mansion), after being invited back for afternoon tea before they left. Everything had been explained to Kaya and Sanji, and now they could relax...a little bit.

Sanji was in the kitchen, preparing the afternoon tea. Everybody else was sitting in the parlour, although it seemed a bit strange to see the likes of Luffy and Zoro sitting in a fancy parlour, not to mention Ace's lack of shirt.

The former Usopp Pirates were also there, and sat on a couch that was big enough for the three of them. Usopp sat on a couch opposite to them (with a coffee table in between them) and told them the story of how 'he' had saved the Straw Hat Pirates from Enel. Luffy, Chopper and Zoro sat next to him - Zoro was asleep, and Luffy and chopper were laughing at Usopp's retelling of their adventures in Skypiea.

Ace and Law were sitting on another couch, at opposite ends, as far away from each other as they could get. Despite having worked together to stop Shalulia from calling an Admiral, the two were no closer to being friends than Usopp was to stop telling such tall tales.

The girls were all sitting by the window, with Nami and Kaya sitting in fancy sofa chairs, and Emma and Sumi sitting on the window-seat.

"Hey, Sumi-Chan," Emma tapped Sumi's shoulder (the non-injured one). "What's up? Why so pensive?"

"Oh, I was just thinking." Sumi said, smiling slightly. "Everything's changing, isn't it?"

Nami nodded. "Yes, it is." She agreed.

"I feel a lot better with _Oyaji_ patrolling waters here," Sumi admitted. "But, I still feel like something's wrong..."

"We'll work this out, Sumi, for sure." Nami told her, smiling confidently.

"Yes," Kaya nodded in agreement. "After seeing how you all handled that crisis today, I don't doubt that you can handle anything that they throw at you."

"Even though we're pirates?" Sumi asked her.

Kaya giggled. "Who knows - maybe it's _because_ you're pirates?"

They all began giggling at that, causing the boys to glance over at them.

Zoro woke up, and raised an eyebrow. "How is it that girls can become friends so easily?" He wanted to know.

Just then, the doors to the parlour opened, and Sanji and Merry came in, pushing the tea carts that held all of the treats that Sanji had just finished preparing.

"Oh, wow!" Emma, Sumi and Kaya all breathed in unison, and Nami began to grin, as Sanji pushed the cart their way, glaring at Zoro and Luffy and Usopp, as if warning them to wait.

_"Mademoiselles_," Sanji said, bowing elegantly. "I have prepared these delicious treats for you this fine afternoon." He began setting plates out in front of them. "For the beautiful Nami-San. For the sweet Kaya-Chan. For the lovely Emma-Chan. And, for the angelic Sumi-Chan."

"Oh, you're too kind." Sumi replied - something about Sanji reminded her of Thatch...a real ladies man, but very kind-hearted. The thought made her smile, as she gazed out at the sweet tea, and delicious-looking cakes and sweets.

"Thank you very much." Kaya said to Sanji, bearing no ill-will towards him for fooling her - unlike a certain _other_ cat, Sanji had meant her no harm.

"I've always wanted to try Sanji-Kun's cooking!" Emma said softly, a smile on her own face.

"Believe me, you'll not want to eat _anybody else's_ cooking after you try this." Nami assured her.

Well, that just made Sanji's day, as he turned into a happy squiggle-man of happiness.

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy called. "What about _our_ treats?!"

Sanji gave him a Look. "Yours is on the other cart." He gestured to the one that Merry was pushing, and the poor butler was nearly bowled over by the hungry men.

The girls giggled again, as they began to eat their afternoon tea.

Emma smiled as she sipped on her tea, although she couldn't help but feel that she had forgotten about something...

* * *

As they all made preparations to leave, Usopp seemed to be struggling with himself, like he wanted to say something to Kaya, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

He was staring across at her, as she was talking to Sumi, Law and Chopper about medicine. the conversation appeared to be quite interesting, as all four of them were talking quite animatedly about it.

Luffy, Sanji and Zoro, meanwhile, were thanking Merry for the food and for the supplies, and the butler was saying that it was nothing, and that he was happy to help them.

Emma stood back with Ace, and looked up at him. "_Ne_, Ace-Chan..." He glanced down at her. "How much of my manga did you actually read?"

Ace scratched the back of his head. "Well, just the first part...I really didn't want to read past my death."

Emma nodded, feeling relieved - that meant that he didn't know that Saint Jalmack was responsible for killing Sabo. If he found out, then he would probably do something reckless - she didn't want him to upset things anymore than they already were.

Sumi had been right - things really _were_ changing. They had meant to change at Marineford, with the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard, but Emma herself had prevented that from occurring._  
_

_I get the feeling that...things are _still_ meant to change drastically..._ Emma thought, as she leaned against Ace's arm, placing the side of her face against his tattoo. _This era is about to end...I don't know why, but I can just feel that things are about to change...well, as long as we're all together, then that's fine..._

She smiled. "Hey, Ace-Chan, do you believe in fate?"

He nodded seriously. "Sure. The tooth fairy, too."

Emma froze for a second, before she stomped on his foot with all of her strength. "You _totally_ ruined my moment!" She yelled, as she stomped away from him._  
_

"Wait, what did I say?!" He called after her, surprised that she'd had enough strength to possibly bruise his toes with just her foot.

"You know!" She snapped. "I don't wanna talk to you for the rest of this thing!"

* * *

As the sun set, Kaya and Usopp faced each other, smiling.

"I was so glad that I got to see you again, Usopp." Kaya told him, her golden hair waving gently in the breeze. "Promise me that you'll come back and visit me soon, okay?"

Usopp nodded. "Of course I will - and that's no lie." He added, and Kaya grinned.

She surprised him then, with a sudden hug, and everybody who was watching saw Usopp blush.

"Oh, so _that's_ how it is." Nami grinned.

"Seems so." Zoro smirked.

"What's going on?" Luffy was confused, and Nami and Zoro just sighed.

Sanji looked upset that Usopp got a hug goodbye but, then again, he was leaving with three other pretty girls, so he wasn't _too_ upset.

As they prepared to depart, Sumi hugged Kaya, and said: "Kaya-Chan, Marco said that he'll be dropping by soon to check up on you, so watch out for a phoenix man with a pineapple haircut."

Ace and Emma started laughing, and so did Kaya, as she recalled seeing the phoenix-man flying over when he'd dropped off Emma and Sumi. She would look forward to that visit!

* * *

Onboard the Moby Dick, Marco suddenly frowned. "Yoi...I don't know why, but I have the sudden urge to _hit_ Sumi..."

Vista, who overheard him, laughed, as he ran a hand along one side of his moustache. "Probably better if you don't - you know how protective Ace is of our little sister."

Marco nodded in agreement. "Yoi - if anything were to happen to her, then I don't know _what_ Ace would do...he told Thatch he'd look after her, after all..." He added, glancing up at the setting sun. _And, the word of Portgas D. Ace is a promise..._

* * *

Emma, Sumi, Ace, Law, Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Zoro and Sanji walked into the warehouse back in the other world, to find Garp glaring daggers at Emma's handbag.

"Umm, Grandpa, why are you having a staring contest with my handbag?" Emma wanted to know. She couldn't wait to hear this.

Garp pointed at it. "Because something in it has been...doing something, _all bloody day_!" At his words, David Draiman's voice began to sing. "See, there it is again!"

Emma gasped. "Oh my God, that's my mobile phone! Mum's been trying to call me!" She pounced on her bag, and pulled out the pink mobile phone. She answered it. "Hel-hello?"

"_Emma,_ where_ have you _been_?!_" Lee shouted, so loudly that everybody could hear her, and Emma had to hold the phone away from her ear. "_I have tried to ring you _eighteen_ times today, was your fucking phone on silent_ again_?!_"

"Mum, I..." Emma was horrified.

"_I would have thought that somebody who _finally_ got a boyfriend would be responsible, but you've proved me wrong_! _I should have known that you were too young to handle these things, just like you've always been_!"

"Mum, wait..."

"_It's just like when you were fucking addicted to Ritalin, and couldn't control yourself! You're like that with _everything_, Emma!_" Lee didn't realise the nerve she'd struck, not being able to see her daughter, but everybody else saw it - Emma had frozen, and gone ghostly pale. "_You spend all of your money, drink all of our alcohol, and you don't even answer your phone when we call you - your sister's broken her arm, and you don't even care_!"

Emma was too frozen with shock to do or say anything, but Law did.

He just walked forwards, and knelt down, gently taking the phone out of Emma's hand. he lifted the phone to his ear and said: "You don't know your daughter very well, do you?" He then hung up on her (luckily, the disengage button was in a blaringly obvious red).

As soon as he did, Emma seemed to 'come alive', and threw her arms around him, as she started to sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you all had to hear that!" She cried, as the others approached her.

This was interrupted by the phone ringing again.

Garp held out his hand. "Here, give me that." He said, and Law rolled his eyes, but handed the phone over anyways. Garp figured out how to answer it (without wrecking the dainty little pink phone) and said, in his gruff voice: "This is Ace's Grandfather - we'll keep Emma here tonight and return her to you tomorrow, and I don't want to hear any complaints!" He sounded like he was addressing soldiers, which is probably why Lee was too stunned to answer as Garp hung up the phone (praise that red button).

He then looked at Sanji. "Hey, kid, you're a chef, right?" And, when Sanji nodded, Garp said: "There's a kitchen down the hall - you'd better get cooking now if you want to feed this lot in time, because at seven o'clock, we go live!"

Sanji nodded, glancing at Emma, whose shoulders were still shaking.

"Come on," he said to Usopp, Chopper, Luffy and Zoro. "You guys can help me get all of this stuff into the kitchen."

They nodded, and followed him, along with Garp, leaving Law, Ace, Nami and Sumi to calm Emma down.

* * *

When she'd calmed down enough to let go of Law (not that he really _minded_ her hanging onto him, of course), she sat with her legs crossed, Indian-style, and explained what she knew they all wanted to ask her, but didn't.

"I have ADD, which stands for Attention Deficit Disorder." She told them, staring at her compass rather than looking at any of them. "It's a chemical in-balance in ones brain that makes them have trouble focusing, or paying attention. It also makes us have trouble starting and sticking to tasks at hand. I have it, and so do my sister, our Dad, and _his_ Mum. It's hereditary." She traced a hand carefully along the edge of the compass. "In 2008...that is to say, five years ago, Mum and Dad sent me to the doctor to get prescribed a drug that could help me to manage it. It was called Ritalin, and it's an amphetamine."

"Ah." Law and Sumi said in unison, understanding immediately.

"I...I'm ashamed to admit that I _did_ become addicted to it..." Emma lowered her head, her face blushing. "I liked it so much, that I used to just live from one hit to the other. I isolated myself so that I could just do the things that _I_ wanted to do when I was 'high', and I even shunned away my Dad's birthday in favour of this." She clenched her fingers around the compass. "I lost ten kilograms in two months because it's an appetite suppressant, and I even used to take extra ones when Mum and Dad didn't know about it. But, the _worst_ thing that I did was waste two thousand dollars that my Dad spent on my first TAFE course, because I was focusing on what _I_ wanted to do, rather than my studies, and I stopped going to my classes. Then, one night, I even went for a long drive without telling anybody, which scared the Hell out of my parents. I eventually made the bid to go cold-turkey, and I haven't looked back since, but I'm still a horrible person for doing that to them...and to myself..." She finished in a whisper, her eyes filling up with tears again.

The four surrounding her all spoke in unison.

"Emma..."

"Emma-San..."

"Emiko..."

"Emma-Chan..."

She glanced up.

Sumi cleared her throat. "First of all, Emma-Chan, that was _not_ your fault. It was your parents' decision to send you to the doctors, not yours. You were only...how old? Seventeen? At the time."

"But I became addicted..." Emma muttered.

"You said so yourself," Law said calmly. "That it was a chemical in-balance in your brain. You yourself had no control over how your brain would take it, and it's unfair to blame yourself." He shrugged. "I think stopping the medication was a pretty smart move, wouldn't you agree?" He looked at her, and she nodded silently.

"You can't keep beating yourself up for things that you did in the past, Emma." Nami said gently. "Believe me, it never does you any good. You're _not_ a horrible person for it, either, so don't you go thinking that for even a _second_."

"Nami..." Emma felt the tears threatening to escape from her.

"Hey, Emiko?" Ace wore a very serious expression. She glanced up at him, suddenly afraid that he would say that he didn't want to date a former druggie (not that that's what she'd been, but that was how she saw herself). "I just wanted to say..." Emma's face was pale again by this stage, and she was having trouble breathing. _In-out-in-out-out-out...oh, shite, breathe in, breathe in_! "I'll do my best to understand what you're feeling from now on. I'll be there for you when you're troubled, and I _won't_ let you suffer alone in silence. You and I both know that isolation is the purest form of Hell so, no matter what happens, I won't let you sink that low again. And, even if you do, I'll try to stay above so that I can pull you out of it." He grinned suddenly. "After all, that's what a boyfriend's supposed to do, _ne_?"_  
_

Emma stared at him in shock. "Aww, Ace-Chan...I'd do the same thing for you..." She suddenly leaped at him, throwing her arms around him happily. "My main village man, you are the _best_!"

"Village?" Nami repeated, rolling her eyes, but smiling, as she watched the two lovers embrace. She watched as Sumi picked up Emma's phone, and figured out how to take a photo with it.

Nami _also_ noticed that Law looked annoyed.

Just then, Luffy poked his head into the room. "Hey, dinner's almost ready!" He announced and, indeed, it seemed that Sanji was cooking a feast fit for kings - the scents coming from the kitchen made everybody's mouths water, as Emma and Ace pulled apart, looking sheepish. "Hey, where's Emmy going to sleep - in Ace's room?"

Ace looked thoughtful, and Emma blushed.

"_No_, toast-for-brains!" Nami scolded her Captain, as she got up. "Emma can stay with Sumi and I." She grinned. "It'll be just like a sleep-over." She added.

"Sounds fun." Sumi nodded, as Emma dialled a number to call her sister and find out how she'd managed to break her arm.

* * *

That night, after a delicious meal cooked by Sanji and an even more delicious dessert, everybody was cleaning up, except for the girls, who were in Nami and Sumi's room. The men weren't sure what they were doing, but there was a lot of giggling and talking going on, and the occasional shriek.

Garp just hid a smile - so, _this_ was what it was like to have granddaughters.

"What _are_ they doing in there?" Zoro rolled his eyes. "Whatever it is, they sure are being noisy about it."

"Not fair." Luffy pouted, up to his arms in soap-suds. "How come _they_ get to have all the fun, but _we're_ stuck here doing the dishes?"

"That's the breaks." Sanji said, as he took a long drag from his cigarette. "There's no way I'd make Nami-Swan, Emma-Chwan and Sumi-Chan do the cleaning up."

"How noble of you." Zoro muttered. "Ero-Cook..."

"What was that, pathetic swordsman?!" Sanji shot back, standing up.

"Oh, you heard me." Zoro smirked, although there was a dangerous gleam in his silvery-green eye, as Sanji stalked towards him.

"_Finally_, some entertainment." Usopp said, as chopper handed him a plate to put away.

As the cook and the swordsman argued, there was only a slight distraction, as Emma stormed out of Nami and Sumi's room, and into the kitchen.

"Remember, it can't be Ace!" Nami called from the room.

Emma spotted Law leaning against a nearby wall, and walked over to him, taking him by the arm. "Come with me." She ordered him, and his eyes darkened, but he allowed himself to be led along, and the others watched in silence as he was led into the girls' room, where the door was shut behind him.

A second later, both Nami and Sumi could be heard exclaiming: "She _did_ it!"

The door was then flung open, and Law was pushed out again. As she slammed the door shut, Emma could then be heard shouting: "That's it, Nami! What'll it be - Truth, Dare, Double-Dare, Kiss-A-Man Or Torture?! Oh, wait, I know, it's _torture_!"

"Yeah!" Sumi agreed, and what followed next were a series of shrieks, thumps and then Nami laughing and begging for mercy from Emma and Sumi's 'tickle torture'.

"Aww, I wanna play too!" Luffy looked sulky.

"That's probably not such a good idea, you know." Zoro remarked.

"I'll say." Sanji agreed with him, for once. "Luffy, what would happen if you got 'Kiss A Man'?"

"What?" Luffy blinked. He then grinned. "I wouldn't do it, of course!"

"That's not how the game works, _baka_!" Sanji, Zoro and Usopp cried.

Chopper looked up at Garp. "Is it normal for girls to act the way Nami, Emma and Sumi are?"

"How should _I_ know, squirrel?!"

"I'm a _reindeer_!"

Ace, meanwhile, was glaring at Law, asking him the silent question.

The Look in Law's steely grey eyes was all Ace needed to know - that, and the fact that he had Emma's pink lipgloss on his chin.

The two young men glared at each other, and then suddenly made a silent vow, at the _exact_ same time, to get what they wanted.

Too bad they both wanted the same thing.

* * *

_The tall man sighed, not sure of how to handle this situation, and deciding that it was just best to let one of his associates handle it._

_They had arrived on the island, much to the shock of the locals, and they had been confronted by an unexpected person._

_She stood with her arms crossed, her pink lips forming a frown, as she regarded them carefully with deep blue eyes._

_"Why have you come here?" She demanded to know. She certainly had no fear of them, but she wasn't being disrespectful - she merely wanted to know why they had come here._

_"We're here for somebody." Sakazuki said gruffly, holding out a Wanted poster. "This woman was spotted here recently, was she not?"_

_The blue-haired woman with the heart-shaped tattoos across her collar-bone regarded the poster of the orange-haired woman, and Kuzan saw a flicker of recognition go through her eyes. "What about her?" She asked calmly, switching her gaze to look - no, to _glare_ - at Sakazuki._

_"She's a pirate, wanted for direct crimes against the World Government." Sakazuki stated coldly, crushing the Wanted poster in his fist, and the blue-haired woman tensed slightly._

_"Well, she's not here." The woman stated firmly, transferring her hands to her hips. "I suggest you look elsewhere - our island had already been through enough."_

_Sakazuki's eyes were cold. "We're not here for her - we're here for _you_, Nojiko, sister of Cat Thief Nami."_

_Nojiko's eyes widened. "Wh-what?!" She cried, as the agents standing behind the three Admirals drew their pistols. Nojiko took a step back, and then Kuzan used his powers to freeze her feet to the ground. She gasped. "So what, now you're into kidnaping, is that it?!"_

_"Don't make this any harder than it has to be." Sakazuki suggested. "It's your own fault for being associated with a criminal like your sister."_

_Nojiko gritted her teeth. If she was going to go down, then she was going to do it saying what she wanted to say! "My sister is a great person, and so are her ship-mates - they protected our whole island from Arlong when the Marines in this area were too corrupt and money-loving to care!" She shouted. "I'm proud to be the sister of a pirate like Nami!"_

_"_Ribon-Ribon No...GRAB_!"_

_Red and gold ribbons shot out of the palms of the girl that nobody had noticed, wrapping around Nojiko and dragging her out of harm's way._

_The red-haired girl locked gazes with Sakazuki, who stared back at Emma._

_She tilted her chin up, a clear expression of defiance._

_A second later, a red and gold flash burst forth, announcing that both Nojiko and her saviour had vanished._

_Sakazuki stared at the spot where the two girls had vanished, every expression relating to anger written across his face._

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. _Two In A Million_, by S Club 7 ****youtu . be /gGaN2ziGEGI**

**. _I Never Had A Dream Come True_, by S club 7 youtu . be / ehqHoeVG _ w4**

**. Yes, I was watching that episode of Luffy's past, where Shanks shows up looking all boss, and that gave me inspiration to write how Luffy appeared to the World Nobles in this chapter.**

**. I just realised how suitable it is for Akainu to be obsessed with capturing Emma, since his name literally means 'red dog', and Emma transforms into a red cat. ^^**

**. The World Government has a new tactic.**

* * *

_KaiF . Raphaella - drama is good! Thanks for reviewing!_

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan - I only just realised that afterwards, as well! Plus, Ace's body temperature must run at the same degree as Jacob's, lol. Luffy can be Seth (Nami gets to be Leah). XD It so works!_

_MsWildLuck - more Law action? You'll just have to wait and see. ^^_

_Cocoa Liddell - jealousy is a green-eyed monster, but it can be kind of cute! Actually, Ace is just cute, regardless. XD_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - not Hancock...anything but Hancock! *Rides away on the back of a giant mongoose* Zoro, stop glaring at meeee! Lol, sea-stone ditch. Does such a thing even exist?_


	17. What Is Love?

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

What Is Love?

* * *

Emma awoke with a start, looking all around her, but the only other two in the room were Nami and Sumi, and both of them were asleep.

_Where is she?_ Emma wondered, and then realised that Nojiko could be _anywhere_ - just like Garp had been, and the Whitebeard Pirates! Groaning inwardly, Emma looked at her compass, as if it would give her the answers...and, there it was - a tiny beam of light appeared on the compass' surface, and pointed straight ahead.

"Oh..." She said, getting out of the bed quickly. She held the compass out, and the light stayed in one place, but when she moved the compass, the light shifted, and was always pointing east. "So she's that way..."

"Nng...wazzup?" Sumi mumbled, still half-asleep. Her incredibly long hair was covering her face when she raised her head - she looked like Cousin It.

"Never mind, go back to sleep." Emma replied, as she walked towards the door, and Sumi obliged, falling back onto her pillow.

Emma felt like doing that, but she couldn't - Nojiko would be disorientated and confused in this world. She needed help. It would be better if Nami didn't find out at the moment - she would probably just panic.

As Emma walked towards the door of the warehouse (she had decided to take the other exit, to avoid opening the roller-door and waking everybody else up), she held the compass out in front of her, judging where the light of it was. This was no ordinary compass, not by a long-shot. It had the power to change certain people into cats, and show them all where their next Allies were.

As she slid into her shoes, Emma couldn't help but wonder, though...why her? Why had _she_ gotten the compass...well half of it...and why not somebody else?

She was so deep in thought, that she almost walked into the door. "Huh? Why won't it open? It opened _yesterday_..." She tried opening it with both hands, and then put her foot on the wall, trying to get the door open. She ended up putting _both_ feet on the wall and pulling, like she was in some kind of comedy cartoon._  
_

"You won't get it open _that_ way." A voice said from behind her, and she gasped, her hands sliding off the door and she went flying backwards.

Luckily, Law was there to catch her.

"What did you do to the door?" Emma wanted to know, trying to detach herself from Law's arms.

"Locked it."

"I can see that, Captain Obvious." Emma rolled her eyes. "My next question is, _why_ is it locked?"

"So that you wouldn't run away." He replied.

Emma blinked, and turned around, looking up at him. "Hang on, why would you think I'd...? _Oh_, because I had a fight with my Mum..." She shook her head. "Law-San, if I ran away every time I had a fight with her, I might as well move out." She raised an eyebrow. "Were you...by any chance...worried about me?"

Law just looked back at her. "It was Garp's idea - everyone just went along with it."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, well...do you think you can, maybe...unlock the door?"

"I haven't got the key."

"Who does then?"

"That would be _me_." Ace said, leaning against a wall. He had the key on a chain around his neck.

"Ace-Chan, I need that key, I need to go somewhere." Emma stated.

"Where?" Ace and Law asked her in unison.

"Out."

"Out where?" Ace wanted to know.

Emma sighed. She held up the compass, and the little ball of light reappeared. "To wherever this thing leads me." Both Ace and Law stared at it. The beam of light illuminated Emma's face. "It's a matter of life and death, seriously..." She glanced up. "You guys can come with me, if you want. But we have to leave now." She walked over to Ace. "Okay?"

He looked down at her, and noticed how serious she looked. He nodded. "What would I get in return?"

Emma stared at him for a moment, before she smirked, and motioned for him to lean down. When he did, she kissed him, looping her hands around his neck - it was the first time _she'd_ ever kissed anybody, not the other way around.

Ace was surprised at first, but then he returned the kiss, running his hands down her sides to rest on her waist, tugging her closer to him so that their bodies were touching.

Law coughed suddenly, and Emma and Ace broke apart. Ace glared at Law, but then switched his gaze back to Emma when she held up her hand.

Dangling from her left ring finger was the silver key.

She giggled. "Now it doesn't matter whether or not you say yes." She grinned her classic lopsided grin. "So, are you two coming or what?" She went over to the door and unlocked it. "Or else, I'll just go by myself."

The two men looked surprised - damn it, this girl was better than they'd thought.

They followed her into the outside world.

* * *

"Guys!" Luffy ran into the kitchen looking panicked. "I think she's run away - I can't find her _anywhere_!"

"Oh, if you're referring to Emma-Chan," Sumi spoke up, as she lathered more Vegemite onto a piece of toast (Sanji had offered to cook, but a few people had just opted to eat a light breakfast, and Sumi was one of them). She glanced up at Luffy. "She got up early and left."

"That's my point _exactly_!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Relax, Luffy." Zoro said. "I saw her leave earlier. Ace and Law are with her."

"Oh." Luffy immediately began to look calmer. "Well, where?" He asked, eyeing the plate of bacon in front of Zoro, and calculating his chances of stealing a few rashers before the swordsman stopped him.

Zoro shrugged, correctly interpreting Luffy's look and scarfing down the plate of bacon before his captain could commit grand theft Baconorial Phosphoruschloride.

It was Nami who answered: "She was tossing and turning in her sleep early this morning...what if she had another weird dream?"

The others exchanged a glance.

"Then...where could she have gone today?" Usopp wondered, and a few people shrugged. They would probably find out, later on.

"Oh, by the way, Nami," Luffy pointed at her with a fork that he had just used to spear a piece of pancake with. "What did Emmy do to Law last night, when you guys were playing that game?"

Nami and Sumi exchanged a glance, and grinned. "Oh, that." Nami casually turned a page of her newspaper. "That was 'Truth, Dare, Double-Dare, Kiss-A-Man Or Torture' - she picked Kiss-A-Man, but we told her that it couldn't be Ace."

Sumi giggled.

"Yeah, but then why'd she kiss Law?" Luffy asked, confused. "Does she like him, too?"

Nami and Sumi exchanged another, more serious glance.

Sumi sighed. "Ah, Luffy, men just wouldn't understand and, besides, you're just too young."

"I'm older than you." He pouted.

"No, one girl year equals seven human years." Sumi explained, and the men just stared at her. Sumi just shrugged. "Told you you wouldn't understand." _It was because Law has already kissed her, and Emma's the type of girl that doesn't like to just hand out her kisses to any Tom, Dick And Harry...she probably just wants to keep it at two since, to her, kisses mean something that's practically _sacred_..._

* * *

Krystal and Mayling walked down the street, shopping bags swinging from their hands already. Hey, it wasn't _their_ fault that all of their favourite stores had been having a sale - or, that they'd both gotten paid recently! They were talking about their martial arts training, and about Emma.

"Yeah, she rang me too, and told me that she couldn't continue with her lessons." Krystal sighed. "It's not fair, she was enjoying them so much."

Mayling nodded. "I know, but they _are_ pretty expensive, especially for somebody that doesn't have a job." The Chinese girl with the glasses let her gaze wander across the street, and then she nearly dropped her shopping bags. "Hey, Krystal, look!" She swung her shopping bag out to point at the black-clad red-head standing on the other side of the street with her back to them. They wouldn't have known that it was Emma, except that she suddenly turned around, and spotted them._  
_

Her eyes widened slightly, and Krystal and Mayling immediately began to cross the road towards their best friend.

"Hi!" Krystal called.

"Hi, guys!" Emma grinned, as she zipped up her jacket quickly. "What brings you here?"

"Shopping." Mayling and Krystal said in unison, holding up their bags.

Emma laughed. "Sounds fun." They noticed that she kept looking up and down the street.

"What are you doing here?" Mayling wanted to know, just as Emma's eyes lit up slightly.

She lifted a hand and waved, and Krystal and Mayling turned to see two guys heading towards them. Their eyes widened slightly. Both men were tall, even taller than Krystal, and could be considered attractive, or even handsome. They both had dark hair, and carried a strange aura about them.

They walked up to them, standing on either side of Emma like bodyguards.

Mayling and Krystal eyed them. The one with freckles and brown eyes was smiling in a friendly, yet somewhat over-confident way. The one with grey eyes and slightly tanned skin was almost _smirking_, and there was something about him that the girls didn't trust.

"Friends of yours?" The one with freckles asked, still smiling, as he gazed down at Emma.

She nodded. "Umm, yes...this is Krystal, and Mayling, my two best friends in the whole wide world, since we were five years old." She grinned.

The two boys shifted their gazes to Krystal and Mayling, is if assessing them. Krystal shifted uncomfortably - it felt like she was being scanned by some 40th Century Laser Beam. Mayling just eyed both of the boys back, wondering what they were to Emma.

She found out.

"Umm, guys, this is Law - don't ask me why that's his name," Emma said, pointing to the grey-eyed man. "And Ace..." She gestured to the other man and then added, in a voice so soft that they could barely hear her: "My...boyfriend...?"

Krystal and Mayling gasped, and immediately grabbed her by the arms, dragging her a few feet away. They then began bombarding her with questions.

"When did this happen?!"

"What time, day, month and year?!"

"When were you planning on telling us this?!"

"Did he kiss you yet?!"

"Have you had sex yet?!"

Krystal gasped, and rounded on Mayling. "May_ling_, you can't just _ask_ people that!"

"Well, why not?" Mayling shrugged. "We're all adults now."

As this was going on, Emma was getting more and more flustered, and then it happened - her hands brushed against the compass, and the greenish light emitted from it.

"What was that?!" Krystal cried but, as soon as the light had appeared, it _disappeared_ - and, so did Ace and Law.

"Aww..." This left Emma mortified, as she desperately tried to figure out how change the two cats back into humans without her two best friends noticing.

Mayling was looking around. "Hey, where did they go?" She asked, her gaze drifting around the street, and moving straight over the two black cats, who were currently standing a few feet away, looking dazed. She turned back to Emma, and put her hands on her hips. "What just happened there?"

Emma shook her head as if to clear it, and said: "Okay, the light - I dunno. Maybe it was the reflection off of a passing car or something. And, as for Law-San and Ace-Chan, well, they had to go to...the physio." _Wait, what the Hell did I just say...?__  
_

Mayling and Krystal just stared at her.

"The physio?" Krystal asked, eventually, and Emma nodded meekly. Krystal sighed. "Well, they could've at _least_ told you that they were leaving."

Emma didn't say anything.

Mayling suddenly grinned. "_So_, a boyfriend - you _go_ girl! Tell us _everything_!"

"But not _everything_." Krystal added hurriedly, as they began walking. "How did you two meet?"

"Well..."

* * *

Law and Ace followed the three young women all over Fremantle, it seemed. They were watching a whole new side of Emma that they hadn't seen before, the side of her that seemed to come out when she was with these two girls, who seemed to know quite a bit about her. But, then again, they'd been friends since they were five years old, so it kind of made sense.

Law and Ace were also curious as to how much Emma would tell Krystal and Mayling. She didn't seem to mind telling the two girls about her problems with her family, although Law noticed that she left out the part about staying the night somewhere other than at home, making it sound like she'd come into Fremantle earlier on that day.

She also left out everything about Law and Ace coming from another world, and instead told her two best friends the cover story, the same one that she'd told her parents.

Every time Krystal and Mayling weren't looking, Emma would pull out the compass and check it, before hiding it again and suggesting that they go in a certain direction.

Their journey took them to the docks, where Law and Ace stayed to the shadows, and watched the three girls walk along the boardwalk and look at the boats, commenting on what they would do if they owned a boat, and about the teacher they'd had that was obsessed with a ship called the _Duyfken_.

"Remember the song?" Mayling asked, after they'd stopped at Baskin And Robins for ice-cream (Mayling's treat, though Emma had protested).

"Oh God, yeah, who could forget?" Krystal asked, and then the three girls began to sing, quietly.

"_Now the little dove's spreading her wings again, four hundred years have gone by. Fremantle town is her bird's nest, gonna make this fledgeling fly_..."

They looked at each other, and started giggling.

"Hey, Emma, since when could you sing like that, though?" Mayling asked, and Emma nearly dropped her ice-cream.

"L-like what?" She asked, blinking.

Krystal and Mayling exchanged a glance.

"Emma...is there something that you're not telling us?" Krystal asked.

"Well...umm..." Emma looked down, as she finished the pointy end of the ice-cream cone. "You see...I..." She looked up, and the colour drained from her face.

Mayling and Krystal turned, to see a group of teenage boys clustered around the rocks by the sea. One turned, and they could see that he was holding what looked like a blow-torch.

"Hold it still!" He ordered, and one of the other boys held up what looked like a _blue_ cat. It was a very pretty cat, though, despite the periwinkle blue of its fur, and there were darker blue designs on its front, and on the underside of its tail and back paws. "This is gonna be _fun_!" He lit the blowtorch.

"Oh my God..." Krystal gasped. She wasn't exactly a fan of cats (she preferred dogs) but _this_ was going _beyond_ animal cruelty - this was _evil_.

The cat began to struggle, and one of the other boys grabbed its tail and yanked on it, causing the cat to cry out in pain.

"What are we gonna _do_?" Krystal gasped, and then noticed that Emma was missing. "Emma!" She cried, seeing her red-haired friend running across the road.

Law and Ace were stunned for a second - what was _Emma_ going to do against a group of about eight big and burly young men?!

"_Nojiko_!" Emma cried, and Law and Ace tensed in shock.

Nami's _sister_?

Since when? When had Nojiko gotten here?!

Emma leapt straight into the group of boys, grabbing Nojiko in her arms as she rolled, and then landed a few feet away, pushing herself up on one hand, and standing up again swiftly.

"Whoa..." Krystal and Mayling said in unison. Since when had _Emma_ been able to do _that_?

The boys glared at her. "You little bitch!" One of them said.

They all faced Emma, and produced weapons - one had a baseball bat, one had a crow-bar, another had a _machete_, and so on and so forth.

Krystal and Mayling watched as Emma's widened, and she quickly put the blue cat on the rocks behind her, standing protectively in front of it, in her fighting stance. She was shaking, but there was a steely glint in her eyes, the one that Krystal and Mayling had seen in their martial arts class.

There was no time to call for help, or the police, or anything - Emma was about to get injured! The boys were either stoned or drunk, or both, and they were all a whole lot bigger than Emma. Plus, they were _armed_ - wasn't there some kind of a _law_ against that in Australia?!

Krystal and Mayling exchanged a glance, and then nodded.

"Hey, stop!" Krystal yelled, and the boys all turned to them.

Krystal and Mayling had assumed their own fighting stances, but this only made the boys laugh.

"What's this, Charlie's-fucking-Angels?" The boy with the baseball bat smacked said bat threateningly into his hand.

"You bitches ruined our fun." Another added.

"_Fun_?!" Krystal repeated, standing her ground, despite how scared she was. "You guys are _sick_, and _evil_!"

Emma, meanwhile, had reached under her jacket, and pulled out a compass-like necklace.

The boys laughed again. "She calls us _evil_?" One mocked. "What a kid - let's teach her a lesson." He suggested, and two other boys nodded...and rushed at Krystal.

Krystal shrieked, but she didn't move. Either that, or she _couldn't_. This was it - she was going to die! She closed her eyes, and then she heard a sickening crack, followed by a thud.

_That...wasn't me?_

Krystal opened her eyes when she heard Mayling gasp, and looked down to see the two boys that had just been about to attack her, lying in a pool of blood on the ground. The blood was coming from wounds on the sides of their heads, which appeared to have been smacked together.

And, standing over them, was Law. He calmly shook a few drops of blood off his hand, and glanced at Krystal and Mayling, smiling.

"That wasn't as bad as it could have been." Law said.

Krystal and Mayling just stared at him, whilst sharing the same thought. _Not as bad? And why is he smiling like that?!_

Behind Law, Ace was making short work of the other boys, saving the one with the machete for last. It flipped up in the air, before landing point down in the concrete by the head of one of the unarmed boys that Emma had suddenly kicked to the side of the head; he was either unconscious or dead - Krystal and Mayling didn't know which.

They just stared in shock, unable to quite believe what had just happened.

"Nojiko! No, Nojiko!" Emma was suddenly exclaiming, her voice panicked, as she leaned over the very still blue cat. "Law-San, help!" She called, and he went quickly over to her, as did Ace.

Law examined the blue cat quickly and carefully, with the skill of a practiced surgeon, and then he said: "She was struck to the head with some form of blunt object, and she has a few broken bones...there's also what looks like a piece of glass buried in her side. She'll be fine, as long as we get her back to the warehouse soon. Otherwise, she'll die."

Emma gasped. "Ace-Chan and I will bring her back - you go ahead and do what you need to do to prep!"

Law nodded, brushing a hand across the side of her face before he turned and took off running.

"Oh, and tell the others I'm bringing the girls with me!" Emma yelled after him, before switching her gaze to a shocked Krystal and Mayling. "Guys, I...I promise, this will all make sense soon. You're going to see and hear some things that _won't_, but I _promise_ you that I will tell you everything you need to know. But, right now, we _need_ to get Nojiko home!" As she picked up the blue cat carefully, her gaze turned intense. "Okay?"

Krystal and Mayling hesitated, before nodding.

* * *

None of the others were sure what to think when Law rushed into the warehouse alone, and began prepping his med-bay.

"Law, what happened?" Luffy asked, because nobody else did. "Where's Emmy?"

"She's coming." Law replied, his face in one of its rare serious expressions, as he concentrated. They watched him take out a few medical supplies, which included sterile thread and a needle. "There's been...an accident."

"Is she okay?" Zoro asked tensely.

Law nodded. "_She_ is, but...somebody else _isn't_."

"Not Ace!" Luffy gasped.

"No." Law shook his head, and then muttered something under his breath that sounded like: "Unfortunately..." He raised his voice. "No, Emma-San had another dream last night, and ended up bringing somebody into this world, to save them from the World Government."

A few of them glared at Garp, just because he was a Marine, and he was there.

He was _just_ about to say something, when Nami interrupted him. "Who is it?" She wanted to know, just as the door of the warehouse swung open, and Emma came hurrying in, followed by Ace and two unfamiliar girls.

That last point was _just_ about to be pointed out, when Emma rushed straight up to Law, who said: "Put her on the med table." Emma did so, transferring the bloodied blue cat to the table. "Transform her back into a human - that will make it easier for me, and for her to heal."

Emma nodded, and touched a hand to her compass. At once, the injured blue cat shimmered, and transformed into a young woman with blue hair...

"_Nojiko_!" Nami screamed, her face draining of all colour, the same way that Emma's had done before.

Law glanced quickly up at Emma. "Get her out of here." He said softly, taking out his scalpel. "Chopper-Ya, Sumi-Ya, you two stay." He added, as the two other doctors stepped forwards, and Emma hurried over to Nami, taking her by the shoulders and leading her away.

Nami seemed to be in shock - she could hardly walk by herself. "My sister..." She kept on saying, sounding numb. "Nojiko..."

Sanji appeared suddenly, from the stairwell. "I've prepared afternoon tea for us up on the rooftop - we can wait up there." He suggested, and a few people nodded in agreement.

"Wait, we have a rooftop?" Emma blinked.

"_Mochiron_, Emma-Chwan." Sanji smiled. "You can also introduce me to your two lovely friends."

* * *

They were sitting up on the rooftop, drinking tea and eating macarons, as the afternoon was bathed in an orange glow.

"So, let me get this straight," Mayling said, as she set down her tea cup. She looked around the makeshift outdoor living room that had been set up on the rooftop. There was a rather large coffee table in between all of them, where the tea and macarons were. Krystal and Mayling were sitting side-by-side on a couch and, across from them, sat Ace, Emma and Nami.

Garp had a chair all to himself, and Luffy was sitting on a swivel chair (where had they gotten a swivel chair from?). Usopp was sitting on a couch, next to Zoro, and Sanji was sitting on the other side of the rooftop, since Krystal wouldn't let him smoke near her. Mayling continued: "You're all from another world, which is based on that anime called One Piece, that Emma likes. You're all pirates except for _him_," she looked over at Garp. "He's a Marine, but they're not always the good guys. Emma accidentally interrupted your war, and made an enemy of herself to the World Government, so now you have to track down some Allies, because the gods _told_ you to?"

Emma nodded. "Yup. In a nutshell." She licked the cream off of her macaron, before eating it. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, only, like, a _zillion_!" Krystal exclaimed. "Why you?"

Emma shrugged. "Hey, if I knew that, I'd be a god myself. Which would be..."

"Weirder than it already is." Ace finished for her.

_They're finishing each others sentences!_ Krystal realised.

Emma looked serious. "I just know that I want to get stronger...I want to help protect everybody..." She stared out at the sea.

"So, he's training you?" Krystal glanced at Garp, who nodded.

"Yeah," Emma smiled slightly. "It's a bit of 'tough love' training, but it's working. I just have to get strong enough to defeat a Marine named Coby, and then I can stop turning into a cat every time I travel to the other world. It's a world of super powers and sea monsters and mermaids..."

"_Mermaids_!" Krystal looked thrilled - her favourite movie of all-time _was_ _The Little Mermaid_, after all.

"Okay..." Mayling adjusted her glasses. "I know a _little_ bit about the anime One Piece. It's also a world of fishmen that don't like humans, sea monsters that _eat_ people, and a corrupt World Government." She looked over at Luffy. "So, you're the main character? You can stretch like rubber because you ate some weird fruit, and your name's Monkey-something, right?"

Luffy nodded, grinning. "_Shishishi_! That's right! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King Of The Pirates!"

Garp glared at him. "No you're _not_!" He yelled.

"Yes, I _am_!" Luffy protested. "The author guy said I could!"

_He's not talking about Eichiiro Oda now, is he?_ Mayling wondered, before she glanced at Emma. "Hey, so there's four more Allies left, including a Princess, right?"

Emma nodded, and Sanji sighed dreamily. "_Hai_..._Hime-Sama_...I can't wait to meet her..." The cook said.

"Typical Ero-Cook." Zoro muttered.

"Shut up, Mossball!" Sanji snapped.

"Umm, are they always like this?" Krystal said, switching her gaze from Garp and Luffy to Zoro and Sanji.

"Yeah, but don't worry about them." Emma replied. "They fight like that, but they really love each other."

"Hey!"

Emma ignored them. "You can probably tell, but Mr. First-Mate over there's a swordsman, who practices the three-sword style _Santoryu_. His name's Roronoa Zoro - remember it, because he's gonna be the World's Greatest Swordsman."

"Pirate King and World's Greatest Swordsman..." Krystal mused, and both Luffy and Zoro smiled, glad that Emma's best friend understood it.

Sanji, having finished his cigarette, was suddenly kneeling before krystal and Mayling. "And _I_ am Sanji. I am enchanted to meet you, beautiful friends of Emma-Chwan."

Krystal and Mayling just stared back at him, unimpressed.

"Don't mind him," Emma smiled gently. "He's a ladies man. He's going to die of lung cancer, but he's also a really strong fighter, and a cooking god."

Sanji, of course, was very thrilled. "Ah, Emma-Chwan, calling me a cooking god is just so _wonderful_ of you, my dear!"

Usopp rolled his eyes. "She did call you a cooking god, but if you were listening, she also said that you'd die of lung cancer."

Sanji ignored this again.

Emma and Usopp just sighed, and Emma turned back to Krystal and Mayling. "This is Usopp - he's the Straw Hat crew's sniper."

Usopp looked proud. "I'm also a brave and fearless warrior of the sea! I once took on over a thousand zombies, and walked away _unscathed_!"

"Hey, fearless," Zoro said to him. "There's a centipede on your leg."

Usopp looked down and, upon seeing the lightish brown biting insect, let out a very manly girlie scream, as did Emma - she leapt up and dashed out of centipede's way, hiding behind Garp.

"Sc-scary!" She exclaimed.

Ace just smiled, and clicked his fingers. The centipede immediately burst into flames, making Usopp yelp.

"Ace ate the _Mera-Mera No Mi_," Luffy explained to a shocked Krystal and Mayling. "So, he can control fire."

"No, he _is_ fire." Zoro reminded him.

"_On_ fire, half the time." Emma grinned, still in hiding.

"So are my pants - help!" Usopp cried, and so Ace got rid of the flames, leaving a slightly sticky mess where it had once been. Usopp frowned. "Oh, thanks a lot."

"Anytime." Ace grinned, and then looked over at Emma, who was still holding onto Garp's arm (Garp didn't mind). "It's okay, Emiko - the savage beast has been smitten."

Emma nodded, and came back to sit down, tucking her legs up as she did. "I don't like centipedes." She admitted, shuddering. "Give me Akainu instead - I can handle _him_ over a centipede, _any_ day."

"Who's Akainu?" Krystal wanted to know, and it was Garp who answered.

"He's an Admiral of the Marines." There was a slightly dark tone to Garp's voice, that none of them missed. "His real name is Sakazuki, but Akainu is the name he's most well-known by. He's a strident follower of Absolute Justice, and has led many a successful battle against pirates that deserved their punishments."

"H-how can you _say_ that?!" Krystal cried. "Your own _grandsons_ are pirates, in case you didn't notice!" She glared at him.

"Krystal, it's okay." Emma said soothingly, before an argument could break out (a battle of wills between the stubborn Garp and the opinionated Krystal could last for days). "Grandpa Garp may not say it, but he's not terribly fond of Akainu." She set down her tea cup. "After all, Akainu tried to kill both Luffy and Ace, and me as well. He's a vicious extremist, and is infamous for his cruel methods and brutal actions."

Krystal noticed that Emma's hands were shaking. "I...I can't believe you got mixed up in all of this, Emma..." She whispered, unaccustomed tears coming to her deep brown eyes.

Emma looked up, surprised by the wavering in Krystal's voice. "Hey, don't worry about me! I've got _these_ guys on my side," she motioned to the other pirates. "Plus, I have a power - it's called the _Ribon-Ribon No Mi_! Don't worry about me," she repeated, a little more firmly this time. "I'm a pirate now, and yes Grandpa, I admit it openly." She stood up, and walked over to the edge of the rooftop, shouting for the entire world to hear: "I'M A PIRATE!"

"GOOD FOR YOU!" Some random shouted back, and Emma cringed, and dashed back to her seat.

"So, you consider yourself to be one of them now?" Mayling asked, a very serious look on her face.

"Yes." Emma said, facing her. "I've been in battles, and I have a super power. I can't go back now."

"Do your parents know?" Mayling wanted to know.

"No!" Emma shook her head. "And you can't tell them! You can't tell _anybody_! I'm in enough trouble as it is."

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked her.

Emma stared down at her hands. "You know that ship that appeared in Dunsborough? Well, that belonged to Ace's captain, Edward Newgate - also known as Whitebeard. The police in this world have made a connection between me and it."

Krystal gasped. "_What_?!" She and Mayling exchanged a glance. Krystal then noticed that Nami hadn't spoken for the last half an hour. She'd just sat there, staring at her tea cup. "Hey, Nami, right?" Nami glanced up at her. "The blue-haired girl in there, Nojiko...she's your sister, right?"

Nami nodded, and then she elaborated. "Like Luffy and Ace, Nojiko and I aren't blood-related, but...

"It doesn't matter." Sanji finished for her.

_Hmm..._ "No, it doesn't." Krystal agreed, and Nami smiled slightly at her. "I'm sure that your sister will be fine, Nami."

"Sure she will be." Emma smiled. "With Law-San, Chopper and Sumi-Chan looking after her, why _wouldn't_ she be?"

"Oh, that's right, Chopper's the doctor of Luffy's crew, isn't he?" Mayling remembered. "What kind of an animal is he, though? A dog?"

"I am _not_!" Chopper had suddenly come up to the rooftop, just in time to hear that.

"Whoa, _really_ bad timing." Zoro muttered, rolling his eyes.

Krystal nudged Mayling, and then smiled at Chopper. "I can tell that you're a reindeer - you're really cute!"

"Oh boy..." Emma muttered, as Chopper gave his standard reply and reaction to Krystal's comment. She looked up, as Law appeared as well. "How is Nojiko?" She asked, and Nami looked up quickly.

"She's still unconscious, but she'll be fine." Law said, and looked at Nami. "Sumi-Ya's with her now, but you can go in there if you want. Only you, mind." He added, and she nodded, practically running past him to get to the stairs, her orange hair flying out behind her.

"See, what did I tell you?" Emma said. She smiled, as Law sat down on the couch where Nami had originally been sitting. "Chopper ate the _Hito-Hito No Mi_," she said to Krystal and Mayling. "It made him kind of half-reindeer, and half-human, and incredibly smart, as well."

"Aww..." Chopper rubbed the back of his head, and blushed. "That doesn't...make me happy...or anything..."

"Clearly." Emma rolled her eyes, before nodding her head to Law. "And, this is Trafalgar Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates, as well as their doctor. He ate the _Ope-Ope No Mi_...it means 'operation', so please don't ask me to elaborate."

"Why?" Law smirked at her. "Does it scare you?"

"Yes, Law-San." Emma admitted, as Law's smirk grew. "Very much so."

"What about that other girl, Sumi?" Krystal wanted to know.

"She's a member of the Whitebeard Pirates," Ace explained. "She used to be the doctor of my crew, until we joined the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Sumi-Chan is cool, she ate the _Hito-Hito No Mi, Model: Tenshi_." Emma added. "So, basically, she's an angel." She shrugged.

Ace rolled his eyes, and grinned. "Yeah, with black wings."

Emma elbowed him playfully. "I'm gonna tell her you said that."

"Tell who he said what?" Sumi's voice said, as she came up onto the rooftop. She tossed Emma's mobile phone to her. "Here, Emma-Chan - your parents have messaged you eighteen times."

Emma groaned. "I guess I have to go home _some_ time..."

"No, you don't." Ace told her, just as he fell asleep.

"Don't mind Ace-Chan, he's narcoleptic, and falls asleep at any given moment." Emma told Krystal and Mayling. "And, uh, yeah I do," Emma sighed, as she jabbed Ace in the side. "I have TAFE tomorrow, and I haven't done my homework."

Law rolled his eyes. "Good to see you're keeping on top of things, Emma-San."

"Shut up!" She snapped, glaring at him, but there was a slight, lopsided grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "I've been busy saving everyone's bacon."

Ace woke up suddenly. "Bacon? Where?!"

Emma laughed. "Ace-Chan, go back to sleep, love." She tugged at his hair, playfully. "This conversation's too serious for you." She gave him a quick kiss.

Law smirked. "Careful there, Emma-San - I hear stupidity is contagious. You'd probably need an amputation to get rid of it. Want me to do it?"

"I'll survive, but what about your sadism, Law-San?" She replied smoothly. "Are you sure you don't need a shot to fix it?"

Luffy and Usopp laughed. "She got you there, Law!" Luffy grinned. "_Shishishi_...what's sadism?"

A few people groaned, as Emma and Ace started laughing.

Law just smiled, and settled back in his seat, carefully adjusting his position to sit closer to Emma, and noticing that Ace did the same thing.

Krystal and Mayling exchanged a glance.

* * *

Later on, as they were leaving (Emma had left as well, getting into her car and driving away at a snail's pace, because she didn't want to go home), Krystal and Mayling mutually avoided discussing the things that they had just seen and heard, and instead talked about one thing in particular.

"You noticed it too, right?" Mayling said to Krystal, who nodded.

"She's so comfortable around them." Krystal murmured, swinging one of her shopping bags from her hand. "She laughs with them, she teases them, she sits with them...they treat her like she's one of them."

"But she's _not_..." Mayling muttered. "She's not from the same world as them...I can't believe she got mixed up in piracy and wars..."

"Still...I could see it in her face..." Krystal mused. She smiled. "She cares about them, and she really does want to help them...perhaps...this is..."

"What will make Emma most happy?" Mayling suggested, and she smiled too, but it was a sad smile. "Like that Ace guy...he's really fallen for our Emma, hasn't he? But...so has that doctor, Law..."

"Oh, I will simply _not_ allow this." Krystal said firmly. "They will _not_ put Emma in that position, _at all_."

"You sound like an evil mother-in-law." Mayling rolled her eyes. "Can't you just picture Emma as a bride, wearing a dress that you designed for her, with either Ace or Law at her arm, dancing to the Sailor Moon theme song at her wedding reception?"

"Thinking a bit too far ahead, aren't we?" Krystal rolled her eyes. "Well...as long as _she's_ happy, then who are we to stand in her way?"

"Yes," Mayling agreed. "Those two will have _plenty_ of opportunities to protect her, the way _real_ men should."

"I think Emma can protect herself." Krystal pointed out.

"Against an entire _World_ Government?"

"Touché."

* * *

_That went so well! There was trust and understanding on both sides, and I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome_! Emma thought, as she walked up the driveway towards the house. _Now, if only that same outcome would happen with my parents..._

She walked into the house, to find both her parents sitting in the living room with red wine, as they watched _The Biggest Loser_.

Lee glanced up.

"Emma, come and sit." It wasn't a question.

"In a second." Emma replied. She wanted to go down to her room and make a quick call to the warehouse, to see if Nojiko was okay (not that anything would have happened since she rang two minutes ago for the fourth time, but you never knew).

She walked down the hallway, to her closed bedroom door, and tried the door handle.

It was locked.

Emma stared at the door, feeling a hollow feeling in her chest, before turning and stomping back out to the living room, where she flung herself into a chair.

"_What_?!"

Her Dad mimicked her, and then snapped: "Listen to what Mum has to say!"

Emma listened.

Lee said: "What is _wrong_ with you lately, Emma?! We rang you yesterday to _talk_ to you, and you end up involving complete strangers in our private family business! Who _was_ that?!"

"He was..."

"You know, I would have thought that having a boyfriend would teach you to be more responsible, but _clearly_ I was wrong!" Lee told her.

"I only just..."

"You don't do anything around the house!" Lee went on. "Dad and I are both holding down jobs, and you do _nothing_! Your bedroom and the bathroom are a complete pig-sty! You don't offer to _help_ Dad with anything! You're not even _trying_ to be a worthwhile member of the family!"

The words stung Emma, like she'd been slapped. Sure, she'd heard them all before, but that didn't make it any easier. She said: "Mum, look, I only _just_ got a boyfriend, and some really great new friends, as well. I want to explore this further." She straightened up. "And, Ace-Chan really, _really_ likes me."

"Well, what about Krystal and Mayling?" Lee shot back. "Don't lose the only _real_ friends you've ever had."

"What does _that_ mean?!" Emma snapped.

"The reason you got bullied at school was because you didn't make an effort to fit into society." Lee said. "It's society's nature to judge people based on appearance. Just look at you - what did you do, sleep in your clothes? Oh, that's right," she laughed sarcastically. "You spent the entire night at the house of somebody that you've only known for _two_ weeks!"

"There were a whole bunch of us there, it was like a sleepover!" Emma retorted. "Look, this is why I didn't want to talk to you, because you always end up arguing with me!" She stood up.

"Sit down!" Lee snapped, and Emma did so, because where could she go? Not to her room...

"Look, Mum," Emma said, trying to contain her temper. "I actually ran into Krystal and Mayling today, and we spent the day together. They met all my new friends, and everybody got along just fine. It was fun...we had afternoon tea and macarons on the roof..." She smiled, remembering the afternoon, despite the worry for Nojiko's wellbeing.

"Oh, and when were you planning on telling _us_ about this?" Lee wanted to know.

"You didn't give me the chance!" Emma cried.

"Stop squeaking like a retard!" Bruce snapped, and Emma swallowed to stop the tears from forming.

"What are you wearing on your wrist and around your neck?" Lee wanted to know.

Emma glanced at the Baby Den-Den Mushi, and shifted her wrist slightly to try and hide it. "J-just things I...got..."

"They look stupid." Lee said bluntly.

_There is probably not a single person in the other world who'd agree with you, Mum._ Emma thought, but all she said was: "I don't think so."

"Look, Emma, no offense, but you don't _really_ know these things." Lee said, and Emma gritted her teeth. "I don't want to see you wearing them again - give them to me."

_Oh shite, oh shite!_ Emma thought, in a sudden panic. _There is NO way she can have the compass, and she's NOT getting my only means of contacting the others!_ "No, they're mine, you can't take them from me!" Emma said quickly, standing up again. The compass swung from her neck, catching the light and glittering, and she grabbed onto it. It really was a beautiful compass, with a rich rose-gold rim, a pearly white face and blue and gold hands (is that what they were called?). A pinkish-red stone was in the middle of the hands and, when Emma had it in her hands, she felt something engraved onto the back of it.

How did she not see that before?

Before she could examine it, however, Lee stood up.

"Give them to me _right now_, or you'll lose your computer, your I-Pod, your...well, everything!" Lee threatened.

"Why do you keep taking things off me?!" Emma demanded to know. She still hadn't gotten those manga and that DVD back yet. "I'm not a teenager anymore, I'm twenty-three (nearly)!"

"While you're in this house you will follow _our_ rules!" Lee snapped. "Now, unless you want to lose your computer..."

"You can't take my computer!" Emma exclaimed. "I have homew-"

But, Bruce had finally had enough. He stood up and, in two strides, had reached his daughter. His hand came out, and back-handed straight across her face, causing her to fall back a few paces, and sink to her knees, as she held a hand to her face, and stared up at her Father. The man she had trusted...the man who had been her hero...the man who had taught her not to be afraid of storms and snakes...

The man that was her Father.

"Don't give me that fucking bull-crap!" Bruce snapped. "I don't want to hear anymore fucking lies! You're nothing but a _parasite_! I should just kick you out of home!"

Emma was on her feet in a second and, keeping one hand to her face, she grabbed the door handle and bolted out the back.

To her horror, she heard footsteps running after her, and she ran even faster, activating her newly-found strength to hit the bushes at a flat-out sprint.

She managed to make her way over to the other side of the shed and inside of it, and heard her Mum yell from the house: "_Fine, then you can just sleep out there tonight_! _With all the snakes and centipedes_!" She slammed the door shut, and locked it.

Emma sank to her knees, finally stopping, and realising that blood was seeping out from between her fingers. Her eyes widened. _No! He drew blood! He didn't mean to do it, but he did it!_

Just as the tears were starting to escape, the Baby Den-Den Mushi woke up, and rang.

Emma didn't want to answer it, but she knew she had to.

"_M-moshi-moshi_?" She whispered.

"Hey, Emiko!" Ace said cheerfully. "We got worried when you didn't ring about Nojiko..."

"A-Ace-Chan..." Emma whispered, her voice cracking. "I...I..."

"Emiko, what's wrong?" Ace asked, suddenly tense. "What happened?"

"M-my parents..." Emma could hardly talk. Her throat felt tight, like it had just been squeezed tight-shut. "I...Ace-Chan..."

"Sit tight." He said firmly. "I'm coming to get you."

"Ace-Chan..."

"Just give me half an hour." Ace said, and she could hear him standing up. There was a lot of noise in the background, and Emma suddenly wished that she was there, in the warm and happy excitement that was Sanji's kitchen, rather than here in the cold shed. "I'll be there."

"I'm in the shed at the back..." Emma whispered.

"What do you need?"

"A blanket, and...tissues..." Emma shivered. "Ace-Chan, hurry...I...I need you!" She finally sobbed.

"Give me fifteen minutes."

"...Okay..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. The rooftop scene was a re-write, because I lost the original, as I was writing on my Document Manager Page, but my account decided to log me out when I hit Save, and I couldn't get it back. Life is unfair.  
**

**. Ballad Of The Duyfken...listen to it here. youtu . be / gTPfcjypCVc**

* * *

_Chieko Namikaze - Hancock is scary. *Scared* Trust me, though, I know what I'm doing with Ace - Emma - Law. You do trust me? You don't trust me? Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but...here comes the smoulder. *__Eugene_ Fitzherbert Look* Thanks for the review! *Still Smouldering*

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - I doubt that Emma would know how to lead somebody on if it was written down for her! Then again, I could be wrong. ^^ Yeah, it _had_ to be Nojiko - the World Government haven't gotten to Kaya (yet), they're still back with Nojiko! Don't give them TOO much credit!_

_MsWildLuck - *High-fives you back* Thank you!_

_Cocoa Liddell - Ace's awesomeness knows no bounds...like Prussia, from Hetalia, lol. Yes, go Ace! *Cheers*_

_person - don't worry, Hancock's going to show up. She's been SO worried about Luffy, after all but, remember, she's still a member of the Shichibukai...that could be...a very bad thing... __

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - oh, is that so? I think Impel Down called - they want their sea-stone ditch back. ^^ Of course, girls _always_ get to have the best fun! hmm, well, faced with more Boa Hancock and the fact that Bon Clay wants it to be Emma and Ace...I shall be sticking to my plan, which you do not know what is! *Mwahaha*_


	18. Promises And Betrayal

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Promises And Betrayal

* * *

When Emma woke up the next morning, for a second she wasn't sure where she was. Then, memories of the fight with her parents came flooding back to her...running out the back, getting the call from Ace...he'd come over straight away, taking precisely thirteen minutes and eight seconds to get from Fremantle to Banjup, nothing short of a record that even Usain Bolt wouldn't have been able to accomplish.

There had been one brief moment when Ace had seriously threatened to storm up to the house, when he'd taken that first look at Emma's bloodied face, but she'd managed to convince him _not_ to. He'd stayed with her after that, helping her to clean her face, and asking her what the fight had been about. He'd listened patiently when she'd told him, and then sat with her in the shed, wrapping the blanket around both of them - not that they needed it, since Ace's temperature was running at a very toasty forty-two degrees Celsius. Emma had found herself cuddling up against his bare-chest, closing her eyes and letting him play with her hair, and then allowing his hands to explore other parts of her body, within reason. When he'd gotten to her throat, and ran his finger along the thin white scar that was there, she'd told him the story of how she'd gotten it. Diagnosed with thyroid cancer at fifteen, she'd had the entire right side of her thyroid removed, though the girls at school had given her a hard time because she'd been so pale after her operation. It was part of the reason she was so small, as well as being premature. She even told him what had happened to her when she was little.

"Mum said, that when I was one, a had fibril convulsion, which I guess is like a seizure. It must've been scary for her - my body temperature rose, and I nearly died."

"Then she should be protecting and cherishing you, not hurting you."

"Hmm..."

Now, waking up, Emma took the opportunity to study Ace's features. Those freckles...that innocent-looking face (when he was asleep - when he was awake, he was purely _evil_)...those abs...

Emma glanced down at Ace, noticing how loose his jeans seemed, and then she glanced down at herself, and noticed her scruffy and loose her own clothes seemed.

Her eyes widened. _Wait, did we...? No, no, I'm pretty sure I would remember _that_..._ She nodded to herself, knowing that she was still a virgin. They'd kissed (quite a bit), but nothing further.

She relaxed, and that was when she noticed something in the pocket of Ace's pants. Curious, she carefully reached into the pocket, and her fingers closed around two rings.

'What brings you here?'

_What was that?_

Emma's heart nearly stopped, as she withdrew her hand, and stared in shock at the two brilliant gold rings. One was bigger than the other, and had a single, pinkish-white stone set in it. The other smaller one had three of the same kind of stone. Emma frowned, looking at the rings, and wondering why they looked familiar to her...

'I don't consider you to be an enemy.'

_There it is again..._

Just then, she sensed that Ace was beginning to wake, and quickly thrust the rings back into his pocket.

When Ace's eyelids fluttered open, he found Emma staring at him, her face pink.

"Was it good for you, too?" She whispered.

Ace nearly had a heart attack, as he straightened up quickly. "What?! We didn't...did we...have we...did it...?!" He suddenly realised that Emma was laughing, and realised that she'd fooled him. He smirked. "Oh, you're in trouble now!" He said, pouncing on her.

She managed to twist her body around, pushing him to the ground, and landing on top of him, with her knees on either side of his arms, effectively pinning him to the ground.

"Yes, Champion!" She boasted, raising her hands in the air.

Ace suddenly smirked, and reached up with his hands, grabbing the insides of her thighs, and making her gasp. She fell against his chest, her lips mere inches from his, and Ace gladly closed the distance between them.

They drew back, looked at each other, and grinned.

"I really don't know what to do with you." Ace admitted, as Emma got off him, and he sat up. He continued to gaze at her, almost intently. "Emiko...?"

"_Hai_, Ace-Chan?" She smiled at him.

He was...blushing? Just a little bit, but it was there. "Well, I..."

"What is it?" She was still smiling, but it faded in the next instant when they heard footsteps crunching on the gravel, approaching the shed. "Oh shite, _hide_!" She hissed, and she and Ace both grabbed the blanket and bloodied tissues, throwing them into a corner of the shed behind the tractor, before Emma's hand flew to her compass, and Ace was a cat once more.

When Lee walked into the shed, it was to find Emma standing there with her hands behind her back, looking totally blank.

"Well, I hope you've learned your lesson." Lee said. She felt a little bit bad for the argument last night, but Emma looked no worse for wear. Maybe this would toughen her up a bit?

"Uh-huh..." Emma grinned somewhat sheepishly and, keeping her hands behind her back, walked to the door, keeping her eyes on her Mother. "Well, umm...I'd better have a shower before TAFE...it's been a couple of days...heh heh..." She quickly transferred her hands to her front as she turned around, and in her arms was a black cat, though Lee didn't see this, as Emma high-tailed it back up to the house.

"You deserve an award for that performance." Ace whispered, as they reached the back patio.

"Really?"

"No."

Emma pointed to the pool. "I will throw you in there." She threatened, and Ace had the sense to shut up.

* * *

Fate sat at a round table, moving small stone tablets around with her hands, as she sang softly.

"_Allies united, under friendship's fire,_

_Bring light to evil's vain desire,_

_Alone you fail, but you will be aligned,_

_Under the rule of a Princess you have yet to find,_

_When you find her, you will know,_

_The light that guides you, she will show,_

_A power needed, for the thirteen,_

_To save the worlds, seen and unseen,_

_Then venture forth into the lair,_

_Of monster from an ancient nightmare,_

_Stand together in the darkness' face,_

_Stand united under Grace._"

Fate smiled, as the tablets in front of her began to glow. She didn't like what they told her, but that was what was going to happen. She continued to smile.

Destiny approached Fate from behind, her blue hair swinging behind her. "What is it that you see, Fate?"

Fate gestured to the tablets. "Take a look."

Destiny leaned over, and waved her hand over the tablets, creating a small pool, like a hologram.

It showed a beach, with huge craters clearly from a battle. As they watched, the image showed that Marine Admiral, Sakazuki, heading towards a doomed person whose face was in the shadows. The next thing they saw was Emma, haunched over a bloodied body, as her shoulders shook uncontrollably. She then stared up at the sky, her face a pure look of distress and, though she did not cry, her glassy eyes reflected the starless sky, as she screamed.

There was a flash of light, and the image dissipated.

Destiny stared at the tablets on the table, before muttering: "What does it mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fate continued to smile. She turned to look up at Destiny. "Emma stopped the death of one who was destined to die, but that was irrelevant to Death herself - somebody _must_ die, and it's going to happen _soon_."

"Who is it?" Destiny wanted to know. "Should I be going and seeing this person?"

"Yes you should." Fate replied.

"So I am."

* * *

"So, when it's separated in the ratio of 1:1, 618, it's called the Golden Mean."

_What does that even _mean_?_ Emma wondered, blinking as she stared up at the whiteboard. _Why is it called the Golden 'Mean', anyway? Is it a mean rectangle? Isn't 'mean' what Maoris and my sister say when when something 'good'? So then, it's good...right?_

"So, make sure you take things like this into account when you're designing your logos." The Austrian lecturer was saying, as he handed around sheets of paper. "Remember, I want two hundred thumb-nails."

"_What_?!" Everybody cried.

"_Nein_, I am just kidding, you only need to do twenty." The lecturer smiled, and then added: "Now, get to work!"

Everybody scurried for their pencils and such, and got to work sketching and researching.

Emma, though she was half-heartedly sketching, went onto Face-Book. Her hand shook, as it hovered over the Save box...to do it, or not to do it?!

"Emma?" A voice said from behind her, making her jump, and accidentally hit to button that saved her changes to her profile!

_Ahh..._ Emma stared in horror at the screen, which now stated that she was in a relationship! _I didn't decide yet!_

Turning around and trying not to look panicked, Emma looked up to see Georgia standing there. She was surprised by this, but even _more_ surprised by the expression on the usually confident red-head's face - she looked almost..._nervous_?

"Y-yes?" Emma stammered, her hand flying to her throat - damn it, why did she _always_ do that when she was nervous?!

"Did you come up with a design yet?" Georgia asked.

"Umm, no, not yet..." Emma carefully tried to minimize her page without Georgia seeing it. She was feeling quite awkward about this - Georgia had _never_ approached her in class and, in fact, last Wednesday was the _only_ time they'd _really_ had a civil conversation. "Have you?"

"Sort of," Georgia scuffed the toe of her mauve ankle boot on the carpet. "Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow your necklace?"

"My necklace?" Emma repeated, her hand instantly drifting to the red heart with wings. "What for?"

"To sketch." Georgia rolled her eyes, seeming _much_ more like the Georgia that everybody knew. "I have this _really_ good idea, but I can't get it down without having something to look at, so can I look at your necklace for a bit while I draw it?"

"Umm..." Emma swallowed nervously. She _never_ took off her necklace, as per. Faith's requests, but it wouldn't be so bad to let Georgia borrow it to draw it for their class, now, would it? After all, it might help to bridge the gap between them, and, after all, Emma _had_ (accidentally) sent Georgia's sister to another world, so the _least_ she could do was help Georgia pass the class. "Yeah, sure, okay..." She carefully unclipped her necklace, and handed it to Georgia. As she did, she suddenly felt a strange sense, like somebody was telling her _not_ to, but she shrugged it off, as the ruby caught the light. "Here you go."

"_Thank you_." Georgia said vehemently, clutching the necklace in her hand and, for just a second, she stared at it, before turning and walking back to her desk, where she sat down again.

Emma sighed, feeling slightly strange all of a sudden, and then she turned around and maximized her page. She found sixteen requests from various friends and family (that was nearly half of her Friends list), demanding a name and a picture of the man she was in a relationship to, so Emma uploaded the picture from her phone, and sat back, waiting for the response.

She began to space out again, as she idly sketched with one hand, and found herself drawing the rings that she'd found in Ace's pocket that morning.

Her heart started to pound. What did this _mean_?

_What had Ace been about to ask her?_

Emma was _just_ starting to get that tingly feeling inside, when the fire alarm went off.

* * *

Ace sat on the rooftop, humming quietly to himself (he'd been spending too much time around Emma - he was humming the theme song from _Charmed_). In the palm of his hand were the two gold rings. He kept on taking them out of his pocket and looking at them.

He'd been given them the night before, just before rushing out to come to Emma's rescue...

* * *

_"Ace, wait!" Garp had called, hurrying out to Ace, who literally stopped in mid-stride, glancing over his shoulder in frustration._

_"Ojichan..."_

_Garp gave him a Look, and caught up to him. "Don't take that tone with me, you ungrateful brat!" He held out his hand, and opened it up, to reveal two golden rings in his palm. Ace just stared. "Go ahead, take them - they're yours now."_

_Ace glanced up at him. "But, where...?"_

_Garp carefully picked up one gold band, which was bigger, and had a single whitish-pink stone embedded into it. "This one was your Father's..." He stated, and Ace's eyes glazed over._

* * *

_"But, a newborn child bears no sin...Garp, you and I have nearly killed each other countless times...I trust you as much as I would a member of my own crew. Protect him for me."_

_"Don't try that selfish crap on me!"_

_"No, I _know_ you'll do it. And, when the time is right...give this to him...they didn't take it off me before, but I've no doubt that they will before my execution. I want him to have it, though...I don't want it to go to some stranger..."_

* * *

_Garp sighed, and held up the other ring. It was smaller, and had three pinkish-white stones in it instead of one. "This one was your Mother's..."_

_Ace looked up then, gasping silently, and slightly shocked._

* * *

_"His name will be...Gol D. Ace...and...give this to him...when the time is right...give this to him, to give to his precious one...the one that he will...love...the one who loves him...as much as I...do..."_

* * *

_Garp held the rings up, and they glittered in the street-light._

_Ace didn't say anything, as a mixture of emotions passed over his face. He stared at the rings that had once belonged to his parents, not sure what to do, think or feel, so he didn't do any of those three things, as Garp took Ace's hand and pressed the rings firmly but gently into his palm._

_Closing his adopted grandson's fingers over the two golden bands, Garp said: "They both said the same thing - that these were to be given to you when the time was right. Ace...you..."_

_"I know." Ace replied, his fingers tightening over the two rings._

_"No, you _don't_ know." Garp replied, shaking his head. "There's so much that you _don't_ know. You think you do, but you don't." As Ace turned, and ran off without another word, Garp sighed. "But you will..."_

* * *

Now, sitting on the rooftop, Ace wondered what his Grandfather had meant. What could there possibly be left to know?

_What does it mean...to be a man in love? To have a girlfriend? Nobody was ever there to _really_ tell me, except for maybe Makino-San...God, I wish I knew...all I know is that I want to..._

There was a sudden sound, like a high-pitched ringing sound, followed by a strange siren-like sound. Ace sat up a bit straighter, realising that it was coming from the building where Emma's classes were.

_What _is_ that?_

As he watched, people began to pour out of the building, walking in groups, and heading for a grassy area near the TAFE library.

Ace stood up, looking around for Emma. He spotted her, walking to the back of the crowd of her classmates, her backpack slung over one shoulder, and Ace jumped down from the rooftop, covertly making his way over to her as he stuffed the rings back in his pocket.

"Emiko?" He asked, grabbing her arm.

"Ace-Chan!" She whirled around, seeming more confused than scared.

"What's going on?" Ace wanted to know.

"Fire alarm." Emma replied, looking all around her. "It's not a drill, though, because there was no warning, but..."

Almost as if they all heard her, as one, everybody turned to look back at the building.

Ace narrowed his eyes, as he focused his senses on the building. He didn't sense any fire, but there was something..._else_. What was it?

"This is strange..." Emma muttered, before she raised her voice and called: "Here!" In response to her lecturer calling out her name from the role. "Wait a minute..." She looked around. "Where's Georgia?"

"She's helping Tyler." Somebody nearby said, and a few people nodded, since Tyler was in a wheelchair and needed to use a different exit during an emergency.

"No, she's not." Tyler himself said, as he wheeled himself over to them. "She _was_, but she took off just after we left the building - said she had something to do."

Emma turned white - Ace, who was looking at her, saw the change instantly, but didn't know what had caused it.

"Okay, everybody, calm down!" A female lecturer named Kathy called as she came hurrying over, clapping her hands together for silence. Everybody looked at her, except for Emma, who was numb, and Ace, who was staring worriedly at her. "It's a false-alarm - I saw a little girl sneak in and pull the fire-alarm. She hasn't been caught yet, but there is _no_ danger _at all_, so you can all go back in and return to your work."

As the group began murmuring, and heading back towards the TAFE, Emma seemed to 'wake up', and hurried over to Kathy, with Ace right behind her.

"Kathy!" Emma called, and Kathy turned around. "Kathy...this girl...what did she look like? Please, tell me, it's very important!" There was a sudden amount of emotion in her eyes, and Kathy thought that it must be a person that Emma knew.

"Well, let's see..." Kathy remembered. "She was little, and young, only about six or so years old, so what she was doing here without her parents, I know not. She had pale skin, and her hair was short...it was _pink_, too, so she must have some strange parents. She was wearing a really cute black dress, and white stockings...is everything okay?" She asked suddenly, as Emma had paled significantly more, and looked like she was about to faint. "Do you know that girl?"

"Huh?" Emma shook her head quickly. "Umm, no...sorry, never mind..." She grabbed Ace's hand and dragged him away. She was struggling to breathe, and then she nearly collapsed - Ace had to grab her by the shoulders to stop her from falling.

"Emiko, what _is_ it?!" His eyes drifted over her, and then stopped at her neck. He also paled, just slightly. "Where's...your necklace?"

Emma looked up, her eyes full of dread. "Gone..." She whispered, and Ace nearly died.

* * *

Georgia's heart was pounding, as she ran through the streets, intent on getting to...well, somewhere. She was feeling anxious and terrified all at the same time, but she knew that each step brought her closer to her sister. That god, Little Death, had told her that she just needed to get the necklace, and then she would do the rest.

_It's all for Carmilla...it's all for my sister..._ Georgia thought. _It's not like I won't give Emma back her necklace when I'm finished with it...she can go without it for a few days, can't she?_

Still, Georgia remembered Emma's unease about handing over her necklace. Little Death had mentioned that Emma used the necklace for something rather important, but she hadn't really stated what.

Oh well. Georgia needed it more, right now!

Georgia suddenly stopped, because her world had just gone dark. Well, everything around her had suddenly turned into a realm of black and dark pink, although Georgia's body was still lit up with light, like in the normal world.

"Ah...?" Georgia glanced around her, and then down. Wait, how did she have a shadow? As she watched, it expanded out and lengthened, and then Little Death appeared from within it, smiling her (rather creepy) little smile.

"You did it!" Little Death chirped, floating over to where Georgia was. "I knew you could do it!"

"Where _are_ we?" Georgia wanted to know, looking around her.

"We're between worlds." Little Death replied simply. "It's a place that not many people get to see properly, since they usually travel through it so fast."

"Uh...huh..." Georgia looked at the goddess of death. "And, so...why am _I_ seeing it, then?" She noticed that the world that she was in wasn't entirely abstract - the black shapes had formed strange-looking trees and winding roads and mountains and, in the distance, even a castle. She turned back to Little Death, and noticed that the little girl suddenly had a strange gleam in her eye. "_What_...?" Georgia asked, taking a quick step back.

"Well, you see," one would have thought that Little Death sounded almost apologetic - _almost_. "I tricked you. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Georgia asked, suddenly fearful. "You said I could go to where my sister was!"

"And I meant it." Little Death nodded. "You _can_ go to Carmilla. You just...can't come back. Ever." She smiled a slightly evil smile.

"Tell me why not..." Georgia said, through clenched teeth.

"Because..." Little Death was suddenly right in front of Georgia, and had grabbed the necklace out of Georgia's hands before the red-head could react. "_I'll_ be taking this! You need it to get back, but _I _need it to free my master. You understand, right?"

"No, I _don't_ understand!" Georgia cried, as the darkness began to envelope her.

"Don't worry!" Little Death's voice called out, strangely cheerfully. "You will! Oh, but I probably should warn you - they might not take too kindly to you when you show up, so be ready to run!"

"What do you mean?!" Georgia cried, as she blacked out. "Little Death? _Little Death_?!"

* * *

Emma had her head bent over, as she stared into her coffee cup. Her hands were shaking and, despite everybody telling her that it wasn't her fault, she was still feeling guilty.

They were sitting up on the rooftop again, but Emma was too panicked to feel comfortable. Because of her and her trusting nature, they'd lost their only means of transporting themselves back to their own world. Who knew what Georgia and Little Death would do? This power in the hands of the Marines would be _disastrous_!

If the worlds as they knew it were destroyed, then it would be all her fault.

It didn't help that she was the only girl there - Nami and Sumi had taken Nojiko shopping, after the blue-haired girl's miraculous recovery from yesterday's encounter with those lowlife animal abusers (and, by shopping, that meant shoplifting).

Emma was sitting on the couch, in-between Luffy and Ace. Law sat across from them in a chair, Sanji sat on the low stone wall and puffed on a cigarette, Zoro and Usopp sat on the other couch, Chopper sat on a little bar stool and Garp was in his favourite chair again.

Garp sighed. "This _is_ a problem, whether it's your fault or not, Emma." He looked up, to see Ace and Luffy both glaring at him. "What?! I said that it _wasn't_ her fault!"

"She feels bad enough as it is, _Ojichan_." Ace snapped, putting an arm around Emma's shoulders.

Emma nodded. "I mean...now, we might _never_ get you all back to your own world..." She gasped. "Oh no! But...then Luffy will never become the Pirate King!" She looked panicked. "But...he _has_ to! He just _has_ to!"

Luffy suddenly turned to her, and grabbed her by the shoulders, squeezing them tightly until she winced, but it got her to stop panicking.

Luffy looked at her, straight in the eye, and then he said: "I _will_. Don't worry."

"But..."

"We'll get back there somehow." Luffy said seriously. "I promise."

Emma swallowed, and looked into Luffy's dark eyes. She saw absolutely nothing but the honest truth in them, and realised that, above all else, she could trust him. If he said that they would get back, then he'd probably find a way to do it, even if it meant moving Heaven and Hell with his bare hands, he would _do_ it.

Emma nodded. "O-okay...I just don't want you to lose your dream."

Luffy grinned. "_Shishishi_. Don't worry, Emmy - I'm _still_ gonna be King Of The Pirates!" Both Ace and Law rolled their eyes, but then glared at Luffy when he added: "You can join my crew, too! You can be..."

"She's _not_ joining your crew, Luffy!" Ace snapped, whacking Luffy upside the head. "So just forget it!"

"But she _has_ to!" Luffy whined, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Ace. "She has to be my Pirate Queen!"

Law choked on his tea.

"_Baka_!" Ace grabbed Luffy's ear, cuffing it, as Emma shifted away, sitting on the coffee table instead and watching their childish fight with an amused expression on her face. "That means that she'd have to _marry_ you!"

"No, it doesn't." Luffy said, blinking in surprise. "She's going to marry _you_, after all."

Ace stopped what he was doing, and stared at Luffy in surprise. "Wait...what?" He blushed, and glanced at Emma, who smiled back at him.

"_Shishishi_." Luffy grinned. "Ace is _blu-shing_!"

Ace glared angrily at Luffy. "I am _not_!" He cried, lunging for Luffy, who laughed, and dodged out of the way.

"Ace is in heat!" Luffy teased, and Chopper and Usopp started laughing.

Zoro just rolled his eyes, and he and Sanji watched Ace chase Luffy around the rooftop.

Emma, still sitting on the coffee table, started laughing, her eyes sparkling happily. Law, who was watching her, noticed the change in her attitude - it seemed like those two brothers could make her happy no matter _what_ the circumstance. It gave Law a strange feeling that he suspected might be _jealousy_...he didn't like it.

Emma suddenly turned to him, smiling. "_Ne_, Law-San, you know...I've been thinking that, if the opportunity arises, then...well...I'd like to meet your crew, too." She looked embarrassed. "Oh! And, when I do, _please_ can I hug Bepo? _Please_?" She set down her coffee cup and clasped her hands, gazing endearingly at him.

Law stared at her for a moment, before he sighed, and smiled. "You'll have to ask him that now, won't you?"

Emma grinned. "Okay, then I shall!" She picked up her coffee cup again, and skulled half of it. Law rolled his eyes.

"_Ne_, Emma," Zoro said suddenly, and she glanced up at him. "So, what are you going to do about your necklace, I mean seriously?"

"Don't worry, Zoro." She smiled. "We'll work something out. I'm sure the gods that you don't believe in will help us out."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Sanji jabbed Zoro none-too-softly with the toe of his dress shoe. "_Don't_ talk to a lady that way, stupid swordsman!" He then smiled at Emma, and came over to her. "If there's _anything_ you need me for, Emma-Chan, then I will be _more_ than happy to help you!"

"_Arigatoo_, Sanji-Kun," she replied, and then she thought of something. "_Actually_, there _is_ something that you can assist me with..." She took another swig of her coffee, finishing it, and then she set her cup down.

"_Anything_..."

"Well," she said. "I've been training with Grandpa Garp, and I'm quite confident that I can throw a pretty decent punch. The problem is with my kicking - I can't quite get the hang of it and, well, I thought that maybe you could...you know...?"

"Say no more, Emma-Chan," Sanji said, putting up a hand as he smiled at her. "I will be _more_ than happy to help you master what you need to know!"

"Yay!" She surprised him by suddenly hugging him, much to his delight. "I need to be ready for my rematch with Coby!" She drew back from him, and grinned up at him. "Let's begin my training this week - there's no time like the present!"

"But, don't you have classes?" Chopper spoke up.

Emma shook her head. "Well, yes, but...I think I can get out of a few..." She muttered.

"I see..." Sanji nodded. "Well, how about Thursday, then?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, sure...wait, _noooo_..." She shook her head, again. "I can't...I have somewhere else I need to be, very early and then again in the afternoon..."

"Where's that?" Sanji wanted to know.

"I'm going to Kings Park for the Dawn Service." Emma explained. "It's April twenty-fifth - Anzac Day - which is when we honor all of the soldiers that fought in the many wars over the years. Like my Grandfather." She added.

"Oh, so he was a soldier?" Zoro questioned.

"Mmm." Emma nodded. "I never met him, but I wish that I had. He was my Dad's Dad. He became a prisoner of war, and was forced to work with other slaves in cruel conditions on the Burma Railway, at a place known as Hellfire Pass." Her eyes darkened slightly. "He was then a prisoner of war on an enemy ship, that was torpedoed by a submarine belonging to one of my country's allies. He spent four days at sea but, luckily, he was finally rescued. He watched many of his mates drown, however, and injuries he sustained in that war led to his death from a heart-attack when my Dad was twelve." She finished up and, for a second, all of them could picture what the war must have been like. Was this world really as bad as their own?

"So, what are we doing in the afternoon then?" Sanji asked.

"Huh?" Emma blinked up at him. "What's this 'we', White Man?"

"Well, obviously, we're coming with you." Zoro shrugged. "While you...pay your respects to your Grandfather."

"Yeah, we'll come with you." Usopp added. "As long as we don't get arrested or anything."

"Heart of a lion, that one." Zoro muttered.

Emma smiled. "Thank you...all of you...it's my Uncle's birthday, as well, so the entire family is going to go down to the river for afternoon tea - do you want to come?"

"Will your family mind?" Ace asked, in a way that meant 'will your _parents_ mind'?

Emma shook her head. "No, I think it'll be okay. We can always leave if not. I'm sure the girls will want to come, too." She stood up. "Well, I'd better get back home. I'll be here bright and early for our training session, Sanji-Kun, and then in the afternoon, let's make Anzac Cookies!"

"Sure, but what's an Anzac Cookie?" He wanted to know.

"Only the bestest cookie in the whole wide world!" Emma grinned.

"Why's that?" Luffy asked her.

"You'll see!" She sang, smiling.

* * *

Later that night, Emma sat up in her room, after a fairly civil dinner of vegetables with her parents. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, listening to her radio (Girls Generation was singing _I Got A Boy_) and surfing the internet on her laptop.

She checked her Face-Book, and found a private note, which she opened to discover was from Ashlee.

Emma froze, staring at the screen.

Ashlee hadn't written anything, she'd just sent Emma two pictures - one was of the anime version of Portgas D. Ace, and the other was a picture of him from her party.

Emma felt her blood run cold. _She knows..._

Shakily, Emma typed a message: Are you going to Uncle Wayne's party on Thursday?

Ashlee responded immediately: Yes.

Emma swallowed, and was _just_ about to type back, when her Baby Den-Den Mushi woke up, and started ringing. Emma answered it immediately. "_Moshi-Moshi_?"

"Emma-Chan, it's Sumi!" Sumi exclaimed. "I'm sorry I missed you today, but I need to tell you something!"

"What is it?" Emma asked, adjusting her position, so that she was lying down on her back, with her head next to her computer.

"I know how we can get back to our world!"

Emma sat bolt upright. "Really? How?! How did you find out?"

"Duh, I can talk to gods, remember?" Sumi giggled. "Being a Mythical-Zoan and all, you know? So, anyway, this lady comes and talks to me, and she told me that there's a _second_ necklace!"

"Oh my God, _really_?" Emma gasped. "Where is it?"

"Well...she didn't tell me..." Sumi admitted. "She just said that it looks different from the one you had, because it's got sapphires on it, and not rubies."

"Sapphires, huh?" Emma's gaze drifted to her computer, and to Ashlee's profile picture, which showed her wearing the sapphire necklace that Emma had gotten her. Emma's eyes narrowed. Faith was a lying liar that LIED. But, that might just be a good thing. "Okay, Sumi-Chan...let me work on this..."

"Do you have a plan, Emma-Chan?" Sumi wanted to know.

"I think I do, Sumi-Chan...I think I do..." Emma said, as she typed in a message to her cousin: Please bring the necklace that I gave you - I'll explain everything to you.

* * *

The next day, Emma pretended to be going off to TAFE, but instead she went straight into Fremantle and began her training session on the rooftop with Sanji, which ended with one broken wall opposite the warehouse (Sanji's fault) and five broken windows (surprisingly, that was Emma's fault).

She was better at it than she'd thought, and Sanji told her so honestly, much to her joy. In the afternoon, they made cookies together, and everybody else either helped, or got underfoot and ate the cookies almost as soon as they were done. Emma told them that she thought she might have a way to get them back home, but she needed to see, and she wouldn't answer anymore of their questions after that.

Emma had brought over some of her manga (_not_ volume 59 - she bought over the Water Seven arc instead) and even the Luffy doll, which everybody else found _hilarious_. They spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out, until Garp got annoyed with them all and kicked them all out, so they went for a walk along the docks, and window-shopped for boats.

They seemed to be attracting quite a bit of attention - maybe because of Chopper, even though he was wearing a jacket with a hood? People often stopped and glanced their way, and Emma remembered what her parents had said about society's habit of judging people. It annoyed her - people should just learn to accept people for who and what they were!

Luffy was walking at the front with Usopp and Sumi, pointing excitedly at the street performers.

Behind them, Nami and Nojiko chatted, and Sanji trailed just behind them, gazing dreamily at the two sisters.

Zoro was walking behind him, with Chopper, who was sticking close to the tall swordsman to avoid being stepped on by like-sized peoples.

And, at the back of the group, Emma walked with Ace on her right side and Law on her left, happily smiling in content bliss at what she was suddenly a part of. She couldn't help but notice a few girls giving her sideways glances...no, wait, they were glancing sideways at _Ace_, but they were glaring at Emma.

Emma closed her eyes briefly, and then she grinned, and latched herself onto Ace's arm.

Ace glanced down at her, looking a bit surprised. "Hmm? Emiko? What's up?"

"Nothing," she replied, smiling back up at him. "I'm just in a good mood!" _I know this is only a rare moment of calm, and that something's going to happen soon, but...I've always _dreamed_ of this! Surrounded by people that love me, strolling through the town during a beautiful Wednesday sunset...walking snuggled up against each other, just like any boyfriend and girlfriend! A dream I had given up for impossible is coming true!_ She sobered slightly. _And, if Ashlee's necklace doesn't do what my one did, then nobody _else's_ dream is going to come true..._

Ace noticed the sudden change in Emma, and realised that she must be deep in thought - her eyes were unfocused, and she was biting her lip slightly.

Luffy's voice seemed to snap her out of her reverie. "Emmy!" He came sprinting back to them. "Guess what! Guess what!" He grabbed her hands, jumping up and down.

"What? What? What?!" She cried, looking around in a wild panic.

"That restaurant over there is going to give away a free all-you-can eat meal, if you win that contest!" Luffy pointed to a sign that pretty much clarified everything that he'd just said.

"Yeah, so?" Emma blinked.

"So, go and win us a free dinner!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Wha-?!" Emma turned white, and began shaking her head, knowing what talent Luffy intended for her to do. "L-Luffy, no, I _can't_..."

"Just pretend you're singing for us!" Luffy suggested, as the others came back.

"What's going on?" Sumi asked, smiling.

"Emmy's going to sing and win us a free dinner!" Luffy explained.

"Don't just decide for yourself!" Emma exclaimed. "I-I can't, I have stage-fright!"

"If it helps," Sumi said. "Just picture everybody in the crowd is _naked_."

Emma's eyes widened, and she glanced over at Ace, who looked amused. "Umm, Sumi-Chan...I doubt that'll work."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Guys, if she doesn't want to do it, then don't force her into it - she's not a trained seal."

Nojiko nodded in agreement.

Luffy looked disappointed. "But...I think she'll wi-in..." He whined, his shoulders sagging.

Emma cringed. "Luffy...don't...don't do that..."

"Oh dear..." Nojiko smiled slightly.

"But...I just thought..." Luffy pouted, and Emma felt her self-resolve wavering. "That you..._cared_ about us..."

"Oh, _here_ we go..." Sanji rolled his eyes.

Emma sighed, defeated. "Okay, _fine_ then - I'll _do_ it, just...stop pouting..." She face-palmed.

"Yosh!" Luffy cheered, brightening instantly. He reached up, took off his hat, and placed it on Emma's head firmly. "For luck." He explained, when she gave him a surprised look. "Now, go up there, and win us our dinner!"

"You're _shameless_!" Usopp, Nami, Zoro and Sanji yelled.

"_Shishishi_..."

* * *

"I, umm...want to enter...?" Emma nearly whispered, and the hostess looked up at her, with a bored expression.

"Talent?" She drawled, snapping on her chewing gum.

"Umm...singing...I guess...?"

"Mmhmm." The hostess replied. "Song?"

"Umm...?"

The hostess nodded to a pile of CD's. "Choose something, and hand it to the DJ. _Next_!"

Emma nodded, and robot-walked over to the CD's. She began rifling through them, and a terrible thought struck her - she hadn't been able to sing before she'd acquired her powers! But, what if it was the _necklace_, and not the Devil Fruit?! What if she couldn't _do_ it?!

Emma was shaking, so much that the pile of CD's fell over, and a few people glared at her.

Sumi suddenly appeared, grabbing Emma's hand and dragging her into the restrooms of the restaurant. She turned to Emma, and grabbed her other hand. "Breathe!" She commanded, and Emma tried to. "Breathe - in through the nose, and out through the mouth!"

Emma did as she was told, and felt a little bit calmer, despite all of the butterflies in her stomach.

"Okay, now, what's the problem?" Sumi asked her.

"T-tell me if I can sing or not!" Emma whispered, and sung a few lines from a song: "_Oh my love, it's you that I dream of, oh my love, since that day_...well, how was it?!" She closed her eyes, almost afraid of the answer.

Sumi stayed silent, and Emma dared to look, dreading the answer.

Sumi was giving her an odd look, and Emma feared the worst. But then: "What do you mean? You sound the same."

"The same as I did on the ship?" Emma questioned, and Sumi nodded. "You're sure?"

"_Hai_ - it's the same, and people are going to _love_ it." Sumi said firmly.

Emma sighed. "Good...I was...afraid that, when I lost my necklace..."

Sumi shook her head. "Emma-Chan, the necklace _isn't_ the reason you can sing good."

"Oh, I know that now, it's my Devil Fruit..."

"No," Sumi had a strange look in her teal eyes. "That's not it, either..."

"What, then?" Emma was confused. "Because, Sumi-Chan, I hate to tell you this, but I couldn't sing properly before..."

"I know," Sumi muttered but, before Emma could ask her how she knew that, Sumi began leading her out of the bathroom. "Now, come on, you have to get back out there."

"But...I need to use the bathroom..."

"No excuses!" Sumi gave her a shove. "_Out_!"

* * *

Sumi found her way back to her fellow pirates.

"Problem?" Nami asked her.

Sumi shook her head. "Not anymore, Nami-Chan."

"Good..." Sanji was smiling dreamily. "I want to hear Emma-Chwan sing..."

"It's got be better than these _other_ people..." Zoro muttered, and the others agreed with him. There were some people that had talent (a lot of it), and some people did...not.

They had to endure it, although a few people _were_ pretty good.

"Not as good as our Emmy, though!" Luffy said confidently, crossing his arms over his chest. "She'll win for sure!"

"She'd better," Usopp muttered. "I'm hungry!"

"Hey, that _my_ line!" Luffy complained, just as a middle-aged contestant finished his stand-up comedy act.

"Hey, it's Emma's turn!" Chopper chirped up, and everybody turned their heads to the stage, as Emma crept up there. She looked terrified, as she faced the crowd.

"Oh dear, she's nervous." Nojiko whispered.

"That," Nami stated flatly. "Is an understatement - you never should have talked her into doing this!" She scolded Luffy and Sumi.

"Hey, don't blame us!" The two of them said in unison.

"Ssh, it's starting!" Ace said suddenly, his eyes fixed on the stage, as the music started.

It was beautiful violin music, and Emma's hands clutched the microphone, as she gazed up at the crowd, and then saw Ace. She blushed (probably picturing him the way Sumi had suggested), and then she closed her eyes, and began to sing.

"_Say it's true_..." Her voice shook, but instantly they could hear that it hadn't lost its melodic ring. "_There's nothing like me and you_..._i'm not alone, tell me you feel it too_..."

She sung the whole entire song, only faltering slightly on the '_make love to me through the night_' line, and ending on such a high note (literally) that, for a moment, people were stunned, and then they started clapping and cheering.

Emma looked shocked, and then she ducked her head, smiling and trying to hide her smile, as she handed the microphone to the hostess, who just boredly snapped on her bubblegum some more.

"See, I _knew_ that this would make her feel better!" Luffy grinned, and Nami looked shocked.

"You mean...that was your plan all along?" The orange-haired beauty sounded stunned. "To make Emma feel better about herself?"

"_Shishishi_..." Luffy nodded, just as Emma appeared through a space in the crowd, and hurried over to them.

"Emma-Chan, you _rocked_!" Sumi gave her a high-five.

"You sounded beautiful!" Chopper added, and Emma blushed, rubbing the back of her head in a very Chopper-like way.

"You did good." Zoro nodded to her.

"Emma-Chwan, you sang like an _angel_!" That was you-know-who.

"I knew that she would be fine!" Usopp spoke up, grinning.

"Well done." Nami and Nojiko said in unison.

"It was because she was picturing me naked." Ace grinned, and Emma blushed even more, and hid her face in her hands. Ace laughed. "See, I _told_ you!"

Emma peeked at him through her fingers, and then dropped her hands and looked away, meeting Law's gaze.

He smirked, and gave her a slight nod.

She smiled back at him.

Luffy put his arm around Emma's shoulder. "We are _so_ going to win that free meal!" He declared.

"You _so_ are." The stand-up comedian agreed, overhearing him.

* * *

Three waitresses (let's call them April, May and June) had been given an extra shift on that particular night.

The restaurant was in full-swing that night, and none of them were prepared for the crowd that had won the contest. Well, technically, only one of them had (and, she seemed to have the best manners out of them all), but she had insisted that her friends get to eat there as well, and all of them seemed to either have monstrous appetites and high metabolism, or else they hadn't eaten in, like, a _month_...

"They have _no_ manners whatsoever!" April whispered to June, as they stood back by the kitchen doors.

"Yeah, but the one with blonde hair's kind of cute!" June replied.

"What?" May overheard them. "I think the tall one with the beanie on is _adorable_!"

"Hey, ladies, I'm _not_ paying you to stand around and boy-shop all night, now _get to work_!" The restaurant owner shouted. He then blanched. "Umm, what's up with that kid's arms?" They all watched as Luffy's arm snaked across the table, and stole Usopp's Sirloin steak right off his plate.

Usopp jumped up, pointing his fork accusingly at Luffy. "Hey, that was _mine_, Luffy!"

Luffy just shook his head innocently but Nami, who was sitting next to him, jabbed him roughly in the face. "Don't stretch!" She scolded him. _Man, this is _just_ like it was in Arabasta!_

"My steak!" Usopp wailed.

"Quick, get the kid another steak!"

"Yes, chef!"

"Hey, what's with that little kid in the hoodie, isn't he getting hot underneath all of that fur?" May whispered, pointing to Chopper.

"Well, he's certainly eating fast enough, so I doubt it." April sighed, and walked over to the table. "Excuse me, sweetie, but you shouldn't eat so fast - you'll get a tummy-ache."

"Hmm?" Chopper turned to look up at her, and she gasped, seeing his fur-covered face.

Sanji, who was sitting next to Chopper, came to the rescue. "You are looking _lovely_ tonight, my dear," he took her hand. "And, may I know your name?"

"Umm...it's...Aprilynne, but most people just call me April..." She said shyly, blushing.

"Ah, April-Chwan, how my heart sings for thee!" Sanji sighed.

"Umm...okay..." She took her hand back and edged away from him, back towards the kitchens. _-Chwan?_

Luffy and Ace, meanwhile, had both gone for the same meatball that was left on the plate that had once housed spaghetti and meatballs. Their forks clinked together, and the glared at each other. Ace already had a mouthful of spaghetti, but he made his point clear, by pointing to the meatball and then himself and nodding, and then pointing to the meatball and then to Luffy and shaking his head.

Whilst this was happening, Zoro stole the meatball, which led Usopp to sing a song that he had heard during the competition.

"_On top of spaghetti, all covered with CHEESE_..." Chopper joined in. "_I lost my poor meatball, when somebody SNEEZED_!"

Ace nearly choked on _his_ spaghetti as Luffy started laughing, and Nojiko and Nami joined in.

Zoro, meanwhile, just ate the meatball whole, and then flagged down a waiter (whose name was Bob) and said: "Oi, get me some more of that stuff there." He pointed with his fork to an empty plate that had once had something on it.

"Yeah, what was that dish, anyway?" Sanji called from across the table.

"That was fried pig tongues."

Sanji and Zoro exchanged a horrified glance, and then ordered: "I want some more!" And, Zoro added: "And, some more beer, for me to wash down the taste!"

Bob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever." He was getting fired tomorrow, anyway, so he didn't really care what happened.

He walked past June, who started running when she noticed Chopper was choking, as she had a tray with more water glasses in her hand. "What did April tell you about eating too fast?!" She exclaimed.

She hurried past Law, who was calmly eating the white rice that came with the white-wine infused Tiger Prawns, and then he realised that his prawns were missing. He glanced across the table, to see all twelve of the tails sticking out from Luffy's mouth.

Law raised an eyebrow, before casually reaching over - and stealing the bruschetta off of Luffy's plate!

Luffy looked shocked, as Law just smiled back at him, as if daring him to take it back.

Luffy looked about ready to take that dare but, just then, a lobster went by on a plate, and he cried: "Oh!" And grabbed it straight off the plate!

"Luffy!" Nami gasped. "That belonged to the man at the table over there!"

"Ow-ll-e-an-juft-gt-a-nw-one!" Luffy said, with his mouthful.

Nojiko smiled. "He either said: 'oh well, he can just get a new one' or 'owl and juice, go annoy one'."

"What the Hell?!" Nami cried, and both the sisters started laughing.

"_Ne_ everybody!" Luffy suddenly called, raising his glass. "A toast to Emmy...wait..." He looked over at her. "Is Emma Pax your real name?"

"No, it's a made-up one." She gave him a Look. "Augh...it's Emma Liefde Pax."

"Liefde?" Somebody nearby called. "What is that, German?"

"No, it's Dutch - my Nanna knew a guy." Emma replied, as everybody in the restaurant suddenly raised their glasses.

"To Emma Liefde Pax, whose Nanna knew a guy!" Everybody cheered.

Emma was looking shocked by this stage, and then she looked even _more_ shocked, when Garp suddenly crashed through the doors, and shouted: "SO HERE YOU ALL ARE!"

Everybody stopped what they were doing and stared at him, except for Emma, who just stood up, and called: "Waiter - kindly get another chair for my Grandpa, please!" To Garp, she said: "Grandpa, we get to eat free tonight, so order as much as you'd like!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Garp declared, sitting at the other end of the table when a chair was placed there. "Give me one of everything!"

"U-waaa?" Bob looked shocked, even for him.

"You heard the old man!" The head chef cried. "Get cooking, everybody!"

"Yes, chef!"

"So, granddaughter!" Garp called to the other end of the table, grinning. "How is it that we can eat here for free?"

"She won us a free dinner with her amazing singing skills, _Ojichan_!" Luffy called. "Hey, Ace, pass the butter!"

Ace passed him the butter, and then added: "Yeah, it was _amazing_ - you should hear her sing!"

Garp raised an eyebrow. "Why doesn't she just sing here?"

Emma, who had sat back down again and resumed eating her ministrone soup, gasped. "Not _here_!"

"Aww, come on, Emma-Chan!" Sumi called to her. "You don't get dessert if you don't sing!"

Emma sighed, and poked at the pasta shells in her soup. "Fine, but...everybody has to sing with me."

Zoro glanced at her. "What are we singing?" He sounded like he couldn't _wait_ to hear this.

Emma didn't say anything, but just got up and walked to the corner of the room, where the piano was. Either she'd had too much wine, or she was starting to develop some confidence, because she'd _never_ played the piano for anybody but her parents, and they just called it noise. However, she'd been practicing since she was seven years old, and she developed the ability to play by ear. It was a skill that she was proud of - she had worked hard towards it, and now seemed like the _perfect_ time to showcase it.

She sat down, and tapped her foot a few times to get the rythm. As soon as she played the first three notes, Luffy and Usopp dropped their forks, and exchanged a happy look.

"If it's this song, then we'll join in, too!" Luffy declared.

"Sure!" Usopp agreed.

"Oh, I _love_ this song!" Chopper cried.

And, they all began singing _Binks' Sake_.

* * *

In the other world, a creature looked up, the moonlight not reflected in his eyes that weren't there. He would have cried but, without tear ducts, he couldn't. "Yohoho, I can _hear_ them!"

* * *

Another creature looked up, the moonlight reflected on his sunglasses, and he grinned. "_Suuuuper_ - I can hear them now!"

* * *

A third creature looked up, the moonlight reflected in her stunning blue eyes. She smiled, and said nothing, but she could hear it, too.

* * *

A young woman stood at her window, gazing out across the night-time sands. A cool breeze blew her blue hair out behind her as, for some reason, she thought of her friends, and the thoughts made her smile. She wondered where they were now, and what they were doing.

"You like to know?" A voice said from behind her, and she gasped, and turned around, panicked all of a sudden. "No need be afraid." The lady standing before her was old, and had blue eyes that seemed to hold the truth. "Princess, is time you learned your Destiny...be not afraid..." She added, as a woman with very long blue hair appeared beside her, and extended a hand, which created a beam of glowing light that shot straight at the young Princess...

* * *

Back in Fremantle, the group walked back to the warehouse, talking and laughing amongst themselves.

"Did you see their faces when Luffy ate that _whole entire_ cake?!" Chopper laughed. "They were like 'oh no, what'll we _do_'?!" He did a pretty good imitation of the chefs, and Nami, Nojiko, Luffy, Usopp and Sanji started laughing.

Sumi was trying to get Zoro to walk in a straight line. "Oh, now _come on_, sword boy," she shook her head. "How much did you _drink_?"

"Umm, let's see...eleventy?" Zoro murmured. He was actually just _pretending_ to be drunk, and Sumi's reactions were simply _priceless_.

Sumi hung her head. "Oh, you're worse than _Oyaji_."

"Whose _Oyaji_?"

"Whaaa..."

Law, Ace, Garp and Emma were walking towards the back, when Emma suddenly stopped, and looked out over the water.

"_Sugoi_..." She whispered, as fireworks from Rottonest Island lit up the night sky.

"_Sugoi_!" Luffy agreed, hurrying for a better vantage point on top of a stone wall.

Everybody stopped walking, to watch the sky show. The colours of red, green, blue, gold and pink lit up the sky in a spectacular fashion, as other people on the streets stopped to watch in amazement.

There was a slight distraction, as the silhouette of a man riding a bicycle cycled down the jetty, and rode off into the water, and Usopp swore up and down that he saw five shark fins circling out in the bay after that but, for the most part, it was peaceful and awe-inspiring.

Ace glanced at Emma, who was standing next to him, slightly bent over one of the flat rock with her elbows leaning on it, and gazing dreamily up at the skyful of colours. He reached out, and took her hand.

"Hey, can I borrow you for a minute, Emiko?" He asked quietly.

"Sure, as long as you give me back." She replied, and they walked hand-in-hand away from the crowd, and further down the street. There was ocean on both sides of them, when Ace turned to Emma and, keeping a hold of her hands, tried to decide how to begin.

How should he go about this?

Emma suddenly said: "Ace-Chan, I have to tell you something." He glanced up at her, startled, and hoped that she wouldn't say that she was breaking up with him or something. "I'm in love with you." Ace just stared at her, but there was suddenly no amount of shyness or nervousness on her face - just pure determination. "I have been for quite some time now, possibly even _before_ we met but, that just sounds weird so I won't say it again. I decided tonight that life's too short _not_ to say such things and, as Whitebeard-Sama always says, 'do whatever you want, as long as you don't regret it'. Well, Ace-Chan, I don't regret this _or_ you. I'll _never_ regret loving you." She took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly.

Ace was still staring at her in shock.

_It's okay._ Emma told herself. _I said what I had to say, and i have no regrets!_ She smiled slightly. _No regrets...okay?_

'So, you two are in love? I can tell just from the look in your eyes.'

_Huh? There's that voice again..._

Ace waved a hand in front of Emma's face. "Emiko, earth to Emiko..."

She shook her head suddenly. "Huh? Oh, uh, _h-hai_?"

Ace grinned. "That's more like it. Since when did you become the one to suddenly declare your feelings?"

"Since that day in Louge Town, remember?" Emma reminded him, and he nodded.

"Well, I'm not as good with these things," Ace said. "And, to be perfectly honest, I still don't feel like a deserve you. I mean, you're a sensible, decent, hard-working middle-class girl, and I'm a low-life, wanted criminal with an insane amount of cash going out for my capture."

'Yes...I never imagined it could happen this way, but...it has...'

"And yet..." Ace suddenly looked at her intently. "I want you in my life now. I want you to be by my side, and not go anywhere. I want to be known for having _you_ as my partner, even if it means dragging you into the world I live in."

"News flash, Portgas D. Ace," Emma said quietly. "I'm already in it - we might as well tackle this life together."

Ace nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Which is why..." He shifted slightly, reaching into his pocket, and Emma's heart just about stopped. Was she ready for this moment? "I want to be the kind of man that I'm supposed to be. Maybe I don't know what that is yet, and maybe I'll never _be_ that man. But, I will keep trying for the _rest of my life_, if I have to, to be the one that deserves to be with you. I'll protect you, I'll take care of you, and damn it I'm going to love every single part of you like no other." He declared, and Emma's face turned a deep red colour. "Hell, I'll even _cherish_ you, and I don't use the word 'cherish' very often. Do you see it now?" He asked her, opening his hand to reveal the two rings. The sparkled in the moonlight. "You've _changed_ me, Emiko, and I'm going to figure out just _what_ it is about you that can...make me a better man."

"All I ask..." Emma whispered, and Ace glanced up at her. Her lips were quivering - with Ace's declaration, she'd lost her bravado, and her eyes were filled with tears, but she was smiling. "Is that you love me, in a way that I never thought that anybody else would? Can you do that for me, Portgas D. Ace?"

God, he _loved_ it when she used his full name!

Ace nodded, swallowing. "And...?"

"And I will love you...more than _anybody_ has loved _anybody_ before..."

Ace stared at her for a moment, before he dropped to one knee, making her gasp - the tears dripped from her eyes, and her face was suddenly pale. Her skin was very cold, and Ace could _hear_ her heart beating...or, was that the fireworks? It was hard to tell...

"Emma Liefde Pax," Ace said, taking her left hand in his. "I promise to do everything I can to be the kind of man who deserves you, so...this ring is that promise, that I'll always be there for you, no matter what." He slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand.

Emma's heart pounded in her chest - the ring fit perfectly!

'If I have a child with him, then I hope that our children can be friends...'

Emma shakily reached out, and took Ace's left hand. "P-Portgas D. Ace...I promise to do everything in my power t-to be the kind of girl who deserves to stand by your side, through all of the blood and tears. No matter what, I'm yours."

"As I am yours." Ace whispered (why was he whispering?), as Emma slipped the ring onto Ace's ring finger - like hers, it fit perfectly, like it had been _made_ for him, or something...

Emma knelt down, and Ace drew her closely towards him.

Even though they just _knew_ that the eyes of all their acquaintances were boring holes into them all the way from the rocks, Ace and Emma kissed knowing that, from here on out, they were in this together, and they had no regrets.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Belinda Carlisle, Summer Rain - youtu . be / 9LCqMgmQ_lU**

**. The Corrs, Runaway -**

**- Karaoke: youtu . be / t0coHmtrqtQ**

**- Normal: youtu . be / xoXVXaoUxu4**

**. On Top Of Spaghetti - youtu . be / 6GNTs5Gw9H4**

**. Binks' Sake: youtu . be / V - WP9KU3q _ I**

* * *

_Diclonious57 - that's good to know. :) Thanks for reviewing._

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan - bacon would wake _any_ sensible person up! XD Yeah, Emma's having a bit of a rough time but, believe me, everything will become a whole lot clearer for her, soon enough. And, she doesn't leave because she doesn't know how to..._yet_..._

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - don't worry, they're together. So, there's no need to give me any reason to burn my eyes out...you know what I'm taking about..._

_AiSoraix3 - yes, Ace to the rescue! XD He's good to have around in a crisis. Thanks for the review!_

_MsWildLuck - please don't set Boa on me. *Cowers* Law will get his chance, soon enough, especially given recent developments...please keep Boa at bay... *Scared*_

_Chieko Namikaze - mercy is good. ^^ Come out from the corner, friend, it's okay. *Pats your back in a comforting way*_

_Cocoa Liddell - Amazing Ace. XD Constant? I try to get them out every second day, but I was updating every single _day_ when I first started this fan fic. I will keep on trying! :) And, you'll just have to wait and see, in regards to Emma's living arrangements!_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - thank you so very much! ^^ And, don't worry about the parents, they'll get sorted out soon or later, but not in the ways that you're thinking. Ooh, I want to go to Spain - is it nice there? :D_

_KaiF . Raphaella - but, Cliffies make the world go round! Thanks for the review! XD_


	19. Two Worlds Collide

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Parental Warning: This chapter contains infrequent coarse language.**

* * *

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Two Worlds Collide

* * *

"Were your parents angry that you stayed over last night?" Nami yawned, as she poured syrup on her pancakes.

"Probably, but they can't control me forever." Emma shrugged, sipping on her coffee. Her chin was propped up on her palm, with her elbow resting on the table - she was tired.

Everyone was - a few people weren't even up yet. Only Emma, Law, Nami, Nojiko, Sanji and Sumi were. Ace, Luffy, Garp, Chopper, Usopp and Zoro were still asleep.

Emma, however, had a plan for that. As soon as she was dressed in her warm (black) clothes that she'd brought with her, they bustled around putting scarves and jackets on those that were still sleeping, before Emma transformed them all into cats, and they picked them up and piled everybody into the car.

Law was forced to go as a cat, since there were only four passenger seats.

"Nng...it's still dark outside..." Usopp muttered, from the floor of the car.

"That's why they call it a _Dawn_ Service, Usopp." Emma replied, stopping at some lights and taking a sip of coffee. "It's honorable."

"So, tell us about all this, Emma." Nami said, leaning her head back on her seat. "Which war is it honoring?"

"Well..." Emma mused, as she turned left at the lights. "All of them, really. It's called Anzac Day - Anzac stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps - to honor the Anzacs of World War One but, over the years, it's started honoring the soldiers from the other wars. Like my Granddad, who fought in World War Two."

"You've had _world_ wars?" Sumi sounded shocked.

"I know, right?" Emma replied. "Still, we're all taught at a young age that these soldiers fought for our freedom, to make our country a better place. Without their sacrifices, Australia wouldn't be the place it was today. The Germans and the Japanese would have taken over during World War Two, and we'd all be eating wurst and wearing kimonos."

"They sound pretty terrible." Nojiko commented.

"Back then..." Emma furrowed her brow, trying to word things properly. "But they were just following orders, the soldiers that is. Both sides lost so many people so, in a way, I think we're honoring _everybody_ that died in battle, no matter _which_ side they were on. Today is a day to remember every brave person that fought for their country because, in the end, you can't hate somebody for feeling about _their_ country the way you feel about _yours_. i'm just glad that our side won."

_Wow...that was deep..._ Nojiko thought.

"So, there were a lot of wars in your world, Emma?" Chopper asked.

"Uh-huh." Emma nodded. "I mean, there's one going on right now..."

"_Whaaaat_?!" Everybody cried.

"Don't worry, _minna_, it's taking place in another country." Emma explained. "A lot of Australian soldiers have been killed, however, so we're paying our respects to them, as well. There was also the Vietnam War, the Korean Cold War, the Persian Gulf War..."

The pirates exchanged glances, as Emma continued speaking. Only Garp remained still, listening quietly.

* * *

Both Emma and Garp were subdued throughout the entire service. The pirates seemed stunned, listening to what the people of this world were saying about their wars, especially the battle in Gallipoli.

Emma had transformed everybody into humans, and they stood more towards the back of the crowd, which stood there in the chilliness of the morning, listening to the words being spoken as the sun began to rise.

"_They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:_

_Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn._

_At the going down of the sun and in the morning,_

_We will remember them._"

"_Lest we forget_." Many people in the crowd, including Emma, intoned.

The pirates all glanced at her - her eyes were very serious, as she stared at the flame that was lit above the water, and the sentence: Let Silent Contemplation Be Your Offering.

The flame was reflected in Emma's eyes, and her right hand twisted the ring on her left hand.

As the sun's rays shone on the crowd that had gathered at Kings Park, Garp glanced down at Emma and, for just a second, her hair was lightened several shades, and her eyes darkened.

Standing there like that, there was no doubt in Garp's mind who Emma resembled.

As The Last Post was being played, Emma muttered: "You know..." Garp focused his attention on her. "I thought that I was so great, stopping what happened at Marineford and all that, but..." Her fists were clenched. "That was more just dumb-luck...I'm not a _hero_, or _brave_ or anything, I'm just an ordinary girl that got mixed up in somebody _else's_ war." A slight breeze billowed about her hair, as she reached up to tuck said hair behind her ears again. "I'm _nothing_ like the men and women that sacrificed their lives for my country."

Garp put a hand on her shoulder, and turned his gaze back to the men that had stood to attention, and saluted, by the war memorial.

"Heroes," Garp said quietly, but she still heard him. "And bravery, are things that come from the most unexpected places, at the most unexpected of times. I knew a lot of people...a lot of Marines, both men and women, who were willing to give their lives for peace. But...I met a woman once...she considered herself to be ordinary, although she was far from it...I only knew her for a short amount of time, but she sacrificed herself to help make our world a better place, by giving it hope."

"Hope..." Emma muttered, glancing quickly at Ace, who looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet.

"Yes. You remind me...very much of her."

Emma didn't respond, and just faced forwards again, an unreadable expression on her face. She didn't know how to react to this new piece of information, and so she didn't.

She didn't do or say anything, until it was time to sing _Advance Australia Fair_.

The pirates and Garp weren't sure what it was, but Emma sounded more spectacular singing _that_, than she ever did singing anything else.

* * *

"I'm surprised that these cafes and stuff are open today." Sumi commented, as they walked through Fremantle later that day.

"Me too, I thought this was supposed to be a holiday of sorts." Law agreed.

"Emmy..." Luffy began, as they passed a particular restaurant. "Can we...?"

"No, I'm afraid we _can't_, Luffy." Emma said firmly, steering him away from the restaurant. "We have to go to my Uncle's party soon, so you can eat then."

"Okay." Luffy pouted.

"My Mum called," Emma added. "She said the venue's been changed to her work, but she didn't say why."

"Okay." A few people nodded.

"Hey, Emiko," Ace said, from where he was walking on Emma's other side. They were passing a newsagency that happened to be open. "Did you ever check that Lotto ticket you bought the other week?"

Emma shook her head. "No...I missed the draw, as well...I suppose I _should_ check it out..." She pulled out her wallet, and managed to locate the ticket.

As she and the girls headed over to the newsagency to check the ticket, the boys all turned to Ace.

"What?" He asked, blinking at the fact that he was suddenly the center of attention.

Usopp grinned. "Don't you 'what' us, Ace - we all know what's going on between you and Emma!"

"That's right!" Chopper giggled. "We saw you two together last night!"

"Ace is getting _ma-rried_!" Luffy sang, laughing. "_Shishishi_..."

"You'd better treat her right, got it?" Sanji warned Ace.

"Guys, leave him alone, he knows what he's doing." Zoro rolled his eyes.

"What would _you_ know, Marimo-Head?" Sanji asked him.

"More than _you_, Dartboard-Brow!" Zoro shot back.

Ace just stood there, before he glanced at Law, who was glaring at him. Ace stared back at him, reading the expression in the doctor's eyes. He understood it.

Just then, they heard Nami, Nojiko and Sumi shriek, and they all turned quickly, to see those three girls envelop Emma, jumping up and down and looking excited.

The shop attendant was smiling, although she looked a little bit embarrassed.

Emma, however, seemed shocked, her ticket held in her hand above her head, to avoid being crushed by the other girls.

"I take it she won?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"One could assume so." Sanji nodded, as he lit a cigarette.

"What?!" Ace cried. "But...that was...about seventy-five _million_ dollars!"

Sanji, Zoro, Chopper and Usopp stared at him.

"There's...no way she could have won _all_ of that..." Usopp looked stunned. "Right...?"

Nami picked Emma up and swung her around, looking like she was about to kiss her.

"..._Right_...?"

* * *

"I'm telling you, I haven't done anything wrong!" Georgia cried, as she was led down the hallway of the Marine base by two burly-looking officers.

"You appeared in the middle of a top-secret Marine training exercise." One of the officers stated coldly, as she was led through another doorway - how far into the base had they gone, anyway?

"I didn't do it on _purpose_!" Georgia snapped, as they passed a very tall man who looked African-American to Georgia. "If Little Death hadn't stolen my necklace, then I..."

"_Matte_." The African-American man had suddenly spoken and, at once, the two officers halted, and saluted.

"Admiral Kuzan, sir." One of the officers said.

The man, Kuzan, turned around, and Georgia wondered how and why he had gotten so tall. He gazed down in an almost lazy way at her, and asked: "What exactly has this little lady done?"

"Sir," the officer on Georgia's right said. "This civilian is in direct violation of code 613, act 97." He explained, when Kuzan gave him an odd look.

_Why do I get the feeling that _nobody_ but these two idiots knows what a code 613 is?_ Georgia wondered, as Kuzan continued to gaze at her. She felt her face grow heated. "_What_?!" She snapped, finally losing her patience. "This is _not_ my fault! Some god of the Underworld, called Little Death, said that if I got this heart-shaped necklace off of one of my classmates, then I would be able to get my sister back! So, I got the necklace off of Emma, but then Little Death tricked me and took the necklace for herself! _I just want to see my sister_!" She finished, in a yell.

"How _dare_ you speak to Admiral Kuzan that way!" One of the Marine officers began, angrily, but Kuzan held up a hand.

Leaning down, he addressed Georgia. "Who is your sister?"

"Her name is Carmilla Brown." Georgia replied, glaring at him. She _hated_ this place already! "She's about _this_ tall," she held up her hand. "Has blue eyes and black hair, and she comes from the same world that I do!"

Kuzan nodded, and straightened up. "Gentlemen, leave this pretty little lady with me." To Georgia (who was fuming at being called a 'pretty little lady'), he added: "I'll take you to see your sister."

* * *

"So, tell me again when our money is coming in?" Nami asked, latching herself onto Emma's arm as they walked through the Perth Underground. It was some form of luck, for sure, but the trains were running free of charge on Anzac Day.

"What do you mean 'our' money, Nami?" Zoro, who was walking behind them, rolled his eyes.

"I mean, Emma will need some help in managing her new fortune." Nami replied smoothly.

"Oh, is that right?" Emma still looked stunned, as she led them all to the Thornlie train line. "Well, as soon as I can get to the Lotto commission place, then I can get it transferred into my account."

"When's it open?" Nojiko wanted to know.

"It should open up again tomorrow." Emma replied.

"No more starving days!" Luffy cheered, as they boarded the train which, luckily, was pretty much empty, save for two men in hoodies that boarded with them.

"Emiko," Ace whispered to Emma, as the train pulled out of the station. "Those two guys have been following us since we left Fremantle."

"_Nani_?" She whispered back. "The, why didn't you say something before?"

"They smell of drugs and alcohol." Chopper whispered, sounding scared.

"It's okay." Muttered Zoro, who was sitting next to her. He had his swords with him - it was really something that he hadn't been arrested for them yet. "We'll manage it."

"No, let me." Emma murmured. "It'll be good practice for my rematch with Coby."

"Are you sure?" Ace and Zoro asked her in unison.

She nodded, looking straight ahead as her old TAFE passed by. "_Hai_."

* * *

Officer Bradley sighed. Nothing ever happened on a public holiday, so why had he chosen to work today?

Things had gotten even worse, as far as the case that was dubbed 'Straw Hat Girl' was concerned. It seemed that Carmilla's little sister, Georgia, was _also_ missing, and their parents were emotionally wrecked. They had both been admitted to hospital, due to shock and stress.

Bradley sat back in his chair, glancing carelessly at the video surveillance for Perth transport. He then sat up straight and leaned forwards, staring in shock at the screen, which showed a group of people boarding a train bound for Thornlie.

It was _her_ - Emma Pax, the girl they had been looking for. Her fingerprints had come in from the Malaysian Government, and now the police system was trying to figure out how to act on it.

Bradley was supposed to alert his superiors if he saw her today - but, who would have guessed that he _would_?

Bradley stared for a moment, watching the train leave, before he pressed a button that put him in contact with the chief of police.

* * *

Emma knew that it was going to happen, so why was she so nervous?

Her heart was pounding as they exited the train at Burswood and, of course, the two men in hoodies followed them.

They had approached the steps leading down the the car park where the Dome was, when they heard they unmistakable sound of guns being drawn, and the safety triggers being disengaged.

The group all turned around, to see that the men had taken their hoods off, and Emma narrowed her eyes at them, recognizing them.

"You!" She cried, realising that they were two of the men from the beach, the ones who had been hurting Nojiko.

The men nodded. "Some of our mates got arrested thanks to you, you little bitch." One of them said. "We're going to mess you up, and then we're taking that Lotto ticket off of your hands, to help pay for our mates' bail."

Emma narrowed her eyes, and discretely handed her handbag to Sumi. "You liars." She said clearly, judging her distances. "You're just going to spend it all on liquor and heroin."

"Fuck you, you bitch!" The other man spat, and went to fire a bullet - only to find that the gun had been kicked out of his hands. In the next second, a fist connected solidly with his jaw, and sent him flying back into the wall of the closed hotdog shop. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Gary, no!" The other man gasped, just as Emma appeared in front of him, that steely glint from before back in her eyes. The man cried out, and tried to shoot her, but the gun was gone from his hands before he could even realise what was happening and, a second later, he was unconscious against the wall, beside his friend.

Emma nodded to herself, and dusted off her hands.

"Alright!" Chopper cheered, as they hurried over to her.

"Way to go!" Usopp added.

"Oh, it was nothing." Emma shook her head, and glared at the two passed out bodies. "They were untrained, and unskilled."

"Give yourself some more credit, Emma-Chan." Sumi smiled, shaking her head.

"When it's due, Sumi-Chan, when it's due." Emma replied.

* * *

"Okay, so Mum said that they should be around here, somewhere." Emma said, looking around the grassy area where a lot of families seemed to have decided to come for lunch. "I'll try and find her - you guys wait here." She added and, of course, Ace went with her.

"Look at those two." Nojiko commented to her sister, as they watched Emma and Ace hold hands as they made their way through the crowd. "They look so good together."

"They do." Nami agreed, smiling happily. "I'm so glad they're getting married." She was, of course, already mentally planning the wedding. She was picturing a theme of pink, (to go with the rings) and soft gold bridesmaid dresses and white ribbons, with a fourteen tier cake, three outfit changes for the bride, and an admission fee.

Nojiko glanced sideways at Nami. "And you? Have _you_ found a boyfriend yet, little sister?"

Nami scowled. "_No_, Nojiko, I have _not_."

"And why not?" Nojiko smiled, in a good-natured way. She loved stirring up her little sister.

Nami rolled her eyes, and then glanced at the group of boys. Nojiko followed her gaze.

Sanji and Zoro were trying to hold back Luffy, who was trying to make a break for a table of food belonging to an Indian family - there was enough curry and laksa there to feed an army, but that didn't mean that Luffy could just help himself. Usopp, meanwhile, was telling Chopper about the time he had made curry for the King of Shakalaka, and that the King had never wanted to eat anything else ever again, and Chopper looked awe-inspired, even under all of his layers of coats.

Nojiko would have sweat-dropped, had she been in an anime. "Oh. I see what you mean."

"Still," Nami said, smiling unexpectedly. "I doubt I'd get very far without them. They may be idiots, but...they're still my nakama."

Nojiko smiled, feeling a strange sense of peace about the whole thing.

Emma suddenly came hurrying back to them, dragging Ace, and looking worried. Everybody gathered around them.

"Okay, guys, look, I'm _so_ sorry!" Emma said. "I really am..."

"What is it?" Sumi asked her. "Did they say we couldn't stay?"

Emma shook her head. "No...that isn't it. It's just...there's a part of my family that I _hoped_ you wouldn't meet..."

"Emma, just _tell_ us." Nami rolled her eyes.

"Well," Emma began, as she led them through the crowds, and tried to ignore it when Luffy stole a steak off of a nearby BBQ. "My Uncle's son came."

"What's wrong with that?" Nami wanted to know.

"He brought his girlfriend and their baby with him." Emma replied.

"So?" Nami shrugged.

Emma stopped, and turned around. She had a slightly angry look in her eyes, but it wasn't directed at Nami. "_So_, I don't know _why_ they bothered showing up _at all_! They don't even _like_ Uncle Wayne! They run him down, they insult him, they've invaded his own _house_! They think he's some creepy freak that will hurt his own _granddaughter_, and so they won't let him anywhere _near_ her! They disrespect him even though he's bailed them out and put a roof over their heads, _and_ they spend all of his money!"

"The fiends!" Nami exclaimed, looking annoyed.

"How could they do that?" Sumi mused. "I mean, if what you said is true and he's been helping them...we all know that he could be the complete opposite."

"That's right." Ace nodded.

"I didn't want you to have to meet them." Emma explained, staring down at the grass. "They tend to put everybody down."

Ace put an arm across her shoulders. "Hey, don't worry, Emiko," he told her. "Stuff like that doesn't bother us."

"That's right." Sanji nodded. "Don't you worry about us, Emma-Chwan. We're just like ducks in a rainstorm."

Zoro gave him a Look. "_You're_ the only duck around here, blondie."

"What was that, moss-head?!"

Sumi giggled, and linked her arm through Emma's. "Come on. Let's go and meet this family of yours, Emma-Chan."

"Yes. We'll leave the two fowl to their own devices." Law suggested.

"Hey!"

* * *

Over the course of the next half an hour or so, the pirates and Garp were introduced to Emma's family. Ace had already met a few of them but, for everybody else, it was their first meeting, and it was quite memorable.

They met Emma's parents, and tried their best to act civil towards Bruce and Lee, who seemed friendly enough, but they all knew how quickly the couple could lose their tempers.

They met Emma's older sister Sarah, and her Maori boyfriend, Ben, who greeted them in a friendly way, with bottles of beer in their hands. Ben called them all 'fellas', and Sarah's eyes lit up when she learned that Ace was Emma's boyfriend, although she looked like she wanted to ask her little sister something about it - Emma hurried everybody away before that could happen.

Next was Bruce's Mother, June, who got into a five-minute argument with Garp after he mentioned that June was the name of the waitress from the night before, before Emma and Ace dragged Garp away.

They met Wayne himself, who turned out to be a funny and down-to-earth man with a bristle mustache (Emma often referred to Bruce and Wayne as Mario and Luigi), although he looked a little bit unwell, and Law, Sumi and Chopper pegged it down to stress and possible depression, much to their annoyance.

This was largely due to his wife, Shirley, and his son, Clinton, as well as clinton's girlfriend, Rickie-Lee. They sat at a table by themselves, not interacting with anybody else, as Clinton and Rickie's daughter, Bella, watched _Tom And Jerry_ in her very own pink I-Pad. Shirley and Rickie-Lee were both, to put it bluntly, almost _morbidly_ obese, and Clinton was a large and surly-looking young man.

They greeted Emma and her companions with a barely audible 'hi', and Bella barely looked up from the screen.

"Emma-San," Law whispered to Emma, as she hurried them all away again. "How old is Bella?"

"She's four. Why?" Emma asked, knowing full-well what the surgeon was going to say.

"Does she talk?"

"No."

"Then she's either language delayed, mentally challenged or both." Law said flatly.

"I agree." Said Sumi, who was walking next to them.

"Blame it on her parents." Emma replied, rolling her eyes. "They feed her junk food, park her in front of the TV all day, and don't let her play outside - I'm surprised they haven't wrapped her up in cotton wool yet."

"When you and Ace have kids, make sure you bring them up the way most of us were." Sumi said, and Emma nearly tripped over nothing.

When she'd straightened up, she found herself face-to-face with her cousin, Ashlee.

"Oh!" Emma smiled. "Guys, this is my cousin, Ashlee...over there are her brother, Mitchell," she pointed to the young man. "Mitchell's girlfriend, Xochitl," the blonde-haired girl waved to them. "Ashlee's boyfriend, Peter..." Peter came up to them, and greeted Ace like an old friend. "And Aunty Rose and Uncle John are over there." She added, motioning to the red-haired lady and her brown-haired husband. "Guys, this is Ace's little brother Luffy, Law, Sumi, Zoro, Sanji, Ch-Tony," she had faltered on this at _every _introduction, but she couldn't help it - she was used to saying 'Chopper', not 'Tony'. "Usopp, Nami and her sister Nojiko, and Luffy and Ace's Grandpa Garp."

"Hello." Everybody said in unison.

Peter was grinning. "That's some pretty weird names you've got." He said bluntly, and a few people laughed, although some would have argued that _Peter_ was a pretty weird name.

"Yeah..." Ashlee agreed, fixing Emma with an intense stare, that Emma interpreted correctly.

She said: "Hey, did you guys want some drinks?"

Ashlee jumped in. "Yeah, Peter will show you where they are...or..." She called to her brother. "Shell!" Mitchell looked annoyed at the nickname. "Get these guys some drinks!" She took Emma by the wrist and dragged her away.

Emma went with her willingly, knowing that a massive explanation was in order, but glad to see the sapphire necklace gleaming around her cousin's neck. Now, if _only_ it would lead them to the other world!

* * *

"So...how many drinks, and what would you like?" Xochitl asked, smiling. Peter and Mitchell had taken off, joining in a game of cricket with some other guys from other parties.

"Beer." Zoro, Nami and Usopp said, one after the other.

"Wine, please." Nojiko said politely, and Sanji seconded that.

"Uh, I'll just have an ice-water, thanks." Chopper said, peeking out from under his hoodie.

"Same." Sumi added.

"And one for me too." Garp finished up, and then looked around for his grandsons. "Now, where did those two brats go?"

Nami narrowed her eyes. "Lightning Luffy strikes again." She muttered, looking around. "Oh, there he is..." She just stared as Luffy sat there with a bunch of strangers, who seemed to have accepted him as one of their own, and he didn't care, as long as he was eating spicy chicken wings!

"But, where's Ace-Kun gone?" Sumi wondered.

"Yeah, Law's missing, too." Nojiko pointed out.

"Oh dear..." Nami shook her head.

"What's wrong with that?" Xochitl wanted to know.

Nojiko replied: "Well, you know how it is - they both like the same girl."

"_Oh_..." Xochitl nodded knowingly. "That works. I was thinking it was more like Mitchell and Clinton..."

"What happened there?" Nami wanted to know.

Xochitl's eyes darkened slightly, as she remembered. "Do you know what's going on with Wayne and Clinton?" They all nodded. Xochitl seemed a little bit surprised that they did, but she continued: "Well, Wayne puts the fire on every afternoon at around three in the winter, even if it's not _terribly_ cold." She shrugged. "That's just what he does and, anyway, it's his house." The others nodded. "_Well_, on this one particular day, Rickie-Lee and Bella were sick, but Wayne put the fire on regardless. It was actually quite a cold day. Anyway, the next thing you know, Rickie-Lee's posted on Face-Book, calling Wayne - and I quote - a 'fucking idiot' who's 'heartless' and 'will end up all alone because he doesn't care about anyone but himself'." The pirates and Garp looked horrified. "So, Mitchell saw the post, and wrote back that he hoped she wasn't talking about the man who put a roof over her head and payed off their rent when they were renting, because if so then she needed to take a good look at things. Lee responded to Mitchell's post, saying that it was well said and that she couldn't have put it any better herself, and both she and Emma Liked Mitchell's post." A few people nodded - that sounded about right. They were also putting to good use the knowledge of Face-Book that they had learned from Emma (her with her thirty-six Friends and habit of liking nearly every single thing that she saw). "But _then_," Xochitl went on. "Rickie took _down_ the post, and posted _another_ one, saying that people shouldn't interfere, and that they're all idiots who didn't know what she was talking about and that it wasn't the person they all thought. Now, she was living with Wayne and Shirley at the time. So, she was lying about _that_, for a start. _Then_," (and, here, everybody gulped, wondering what _more_ there could be). "She told Shirley and Clinton that she was being bullied and victimized so, basically, Clinton threatened to _kill_ Mitchell. He's older than Mitchell and twice his size, and he's a black-belt in karate..." She sighed. "And, that's the story. I'm surprised they're able to be at the same party together, but I _suppose_ it's all going to be okay."

"Ssh!" Sumi hissed, her eyes widening. "Don't jinx it!"

There was a sudden yell from across the way, and all heads swiveled in that direction.

* * *

"You got a problem, Trafalgar?"

"You know what my problem is." Law stated flatly, not smiling for a rare moment. His arms were crossed - he looked dead serious.

Ace wasn't smiling either, although his stance was more casual. "Let me rephrase. You have a problem with _me_?"

"I have nothing _but_ problems with you, Fire-Fist." Law responded, taking a step forward.

Ace also stepped forward. "Tell me how you really feel," he suggested, also taking a step forward.

"Even my vocabulary couldn't quite describe it," Law replied. "And, even if I _could_, I doubt you'd understand - it's too serious for you." He knew what he was doing, and it worked. By taking Emma's playful teasing and turning it into an insult, Law had succeeded in igniting Ace's temper.

The Mera-Mera No Mi user glared at Law, and said: "You'll never get her - it's _me_ that she loves, and not _you_. I win."

"So, now's she's some prize to be won, is she?" Law questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up!" Ace snapped. A few people glanced their way, including some of the boys that were playing cricket. Ace lowered his voice. "I'm warning you, Trafalgar - stay _away_ from _my_ Emiko. Or else." He smirked slightly, a very small amount of flame dancing on the tips of his fingers. "Would you like to find out what 'or else' means?"

Law returned the smirk - Ace was the _last_ person he was afraid of. "Try me."

Ace's eyes narrowed but, just then, there was a shout of: "_FORE_!"

"This _isn't_ golf!" Peter rolled his eyes, as people ducked anyway, and the cricket ball sailed into the air. "Shell! Go and get the ball!"

Mitchell glared at him, but took off running anyway. The ball made a graceful arc, before falling back to earth, and Mitchell ran for it. The ball was heading towards his family's picnic tables, where it bounced onto one particular table, upsetting a few plates here and there, and nearly hitting one particular pink I-Pad...

Bella's face crumpled, and she began to wail, loudly.

As Mitchell retrieved the ball, which had rolled a few feet away, he sensed the KI, and turned to see Clinton glaring murderously at him...

* * *

"I can understand why you didn't tell me about this." Ashlee admitted, still looking stunned.

"Mmhmm." Emma nodded.

They were standing on a patch of grass down by the water's edge. Four black swans swam serenely past them, unawares that the ribbon in Ashlee's hands had just been produced out of thin air.

As the ribbon vanished, Ashlee asked her: "So, you need my necklace to help get you back to that other world?"

"Yeah..." Emma replied. "We have to find our other Allies, and the Princess, so that we can stop whatever force is trying to destroy our worlds...I'm pretty sure that _your_ necklace can do it, since Faith gave it to me, as well."

Ashlee nodded, and took off the necklace but, as she was handing it to Emma, she suddenly noticed the ring on Emma's left ring finger. She gasped. "When did you...?!"

Emma blushed. "Last night...Ace-Chan...well...he kind of _proposed_ to me without actually _saying_ 'will you marry me?'...it was more like a _promise_..."

Ashlee suddenly hugged her cousin. "Oh, Emma..." She muttered. "Congratulations..."

"Thank you..." Emma replied, just as there was a shout from back at the picnic area.

Drawing back from each other, the two cousins exchanged a glance.

"What was that?" Emma wondered, just as a scream pierced the air.

"_MITCHELL_!" Xochitl screamed.

Emma's eyes and Ashlee's eyes widened in horror, and they both ran back towards the area, as they heard the unmistakable sound of a punch being landed.

It didn't take the two girls very long to find out what was going on - they managed to push through the crowd to find that Clinton had Mitchell by the front of his shirt.

Mitchell's nose was bleeding.

Xochitl was screaming.

There was not another family member that had managed to make it through the crowd just yet...and Clinton was going to hit Mitchell again!

Emma reacted instantly. She was still running, but now she muttered: "_Soru_!"

In an instant, she was where she needed to be. Time seemed to slow down for her - Garp had said that it would, but she still couldn't quite believe it.

It gave her time to carefully measure out her moves, however. She was able to detach Clinton's hand from Mitchell's shirt, and carefully shove Mitchell away (the grass would cushion his fall). She then wheeled around and kicked up, hitting her mark - Clinton's jaw.

Time returned to normal, as Mitchell slumped down onto grass, covering his bloody nose with his hand as Xochitl and Ashlee ran to him.

Clinton hit the ground hard and Law, who was watching from the crowd, identified a broken jaw and bloodied nose, as well as two chipped teeth and a sprained wrist where he had landed on it.

Emma stood in the middle of all of this, breathing heavily not from exhaustion, but from adrenaline, as her family members and friends suddenly appeared from within the crowd.

As Rickie-Lee and Shirley screamed, and hurried over to Clinton, Rose took one look at Mitchell and nearly fainted - John had to support her to avoid that from happening.

Rickie-Lee looked up, and glared at Emma. "You!" She cried, her large face contorted with rage. "What did you _do_?! You..."

"Shut up." Emma said flatly. Her hands were shaking. Her heart was pounding. Oh, this was _so_ it - this was the moment that they'd _all_ been waiting for, for _years_. Looking straight at Rickie-Lee, Emma swallowed, and then she said, for the entire world to hear: "I was ready to accept you as a member of our family. I was willing to treat you the way I treat my sister, and my cousins."

At this point, Sumi and Chopper had hurried over to Mitchell, and were assessing his broken nose - it looked bad. Rose and John had gone over there, too. "Because, as you so like to say on Face-Book, 'blood is thicker than water'. Unfortunately, you managed to _taint_ this blood with your cruel and spiteful ways. Uncle Wayne did nothing but _help_ you, putting a roof over your heads and paying for _everything_, while you two are so _lazy_ you can't even be bothered _working_!"

_She's one to talk._ Lee thought, but her eyes were shining. She couldn't _believe_ the change in her daughter.

"And, how did you repay him?!" Emma snapped; her voice was rising, but it wasn't going squeaky - if anything, she sounded magnificent. "By disrespecting him, and abusing the rules of _his_ house, and running him down to absolutely _everybody_! I know your back-story, Rickie-Lee - you didn't come from a wholesome family. You were abused as a child, and had to care for your brothers and sisters. But, you could have learned. You could have _had_ a wholesome family, here."

"What would _you_ know, you 'little miss perfect slut'?!" Rickie-Lee shouted. "Who the Hell could be a worthwhile family member after everything that _I've_ been through?!"

"I know plenty of people who've risen above the darknesses in their pasts." Emma said. "Good, respectable people that I am glad...no, _honored_, to know." She declared, thinking hard about this. "They've shown me that family and friendship means _everything_, but you have to be willing to be a worthwhile member of that group. I admit that I _haven't_ been that way with my Mum and Dad, but..."

"Then you have no right to talk to me!" Rickie-Lee stated roughly, standing up and glaring at Emma. "You think you're _so_ above everybody else, with your little _family_ and your big words! You're not even _worth_ it! You look down on people who are actually _better_ than you, because they're _stronger_! You're weak, worthless, ugly, and..."

"Shut up, you useless fat slut."

Everybody gasped, but it wasn't Emma that had spoken - it was Ace. He was walking across the grass towards Emma, shedding his uncomfortable layers as he did - they were getting in his way.

Clinton glared at him. "Don't talk to my fiancee that way!" he said, or at least he tried to - his jaw had been broken by Emma's kick.

Ace got the gist of it, however. "Then tell _her_ to stop talking to _my_ fiancee that way." He snapped, shedding the last layer to reveal his muscles and six-pack.

Everybody gasped though, whether it was because of what Ace had just done or what he's _said_, nobody was quite sure. Maybe both.

"Ace-Chan, what are you _doing_?" Emma whispered.

"I don't know, Emiko, I'm _winging_ it." He whispered back. Then, in a louder voice, he stated: "This woman standing beside me is the strongest, bravest woman I've ever met. She's also the most beautiful, though I might be slightly biased." He grinned. "And, she's also..."

"Under arrest for crimes against the state."

Everybody turned, to see a police woman standing there, along with a few other officers. She was holding hand-cuffs, and a badge.

"Acting Chief Of Police, Sergeant Catalina O'Burningham." She said, fixing her gaze on Emma. "We've been looking for you, Emma pax...or, should I say, 'Straw Hat Wearing Cat Girl'."

A few people gasped, recognizing the name, and Emma's family, save for Ashlee, looked shocked.

Ashlee just glanced at Emma, who had gone pale, but then her cousin gritted her teeth.

"Ashlee!" She called to her. "Throw me that necklace!"

Ashlee did as she was told. The sapphire necklace arced through the air, catching the light from the sun and throwing beams of rainbow-light onto all of them.

Emma held up her hand without even looking, and caught the necklace.

As soon as it touched her skin, a circle of blue light appeared around her, creating a small vortex around her feet, which swirled as a tunnel of blue light appeared from the necklace, and arced into the sky, creating a portal that looked like something from the TV program, _Sliders_.

Everybody gasped, and a few people screamed, as wind whipped around them, and Emma's friends approached her, staring in shock up at the portal - and, at their way back home.

"Come on, you guys!" Luffy, who was wearing a _sherwanis_, said excitedly, his face lighting up. "Let's go!"

However, before that could happen...

"Look!" A random person shouted. "Somebody's coming out of the portal!"

"Oh my God!"

Emma squinted. "Who is it?" She asked.

Everybody else was squinting as well, as the person stepped out, and then Garp said: "Is that...Coby?"

"_Coby_?!" Emma, Luffy and Zoro cried, as indeed it was.

The pink-haired boy was lowered gently onto the grass in a beam of white light, and then he looked at the group standing before him.

Emma, who was clipping the necklace onto her neck, suddenly stepped forwards. "Law-San. Create a Room around us, big enough for me and Coby to fight. Nobody interfere - this is what the gods told me that I have to do."

"_Hai_." Law said quietly, walking with Emma and holding up his hands. "_Room_." He said, and the blue sphere appeared. It expanded to include both him and Emma, as well as Coby and, when people tried to get in, they found that they couldn't.

The wind had died down now, as Emma and Coby faced each other.

"Coby!" Emma called to him. "I'm much stronger than I was before! However, if I _still_ cannot beat you, then you can take me back to Marine Headquarters to face judgement!"

Coby nodded silently. He had been trained not to react _too_ badly to surprise situations, but he had to wonder what the next ten minutes was going to have in store for him.

"Also...you have to promise...not to hurt my friends, okay?" Emma added, calmly. "Oh, and my family...and...all of these people who are watching..."

"I'm a Marine." Coby stated flatly. "I don't hurt innocent people."

"_Wakatta_." Emma said, nodding. "Even though I'm a pirate, that's one of the things that we can both agree on. i respect that about you! _Demo_..." She closed her eyes for a moment, and a red and golden glow appeared around her hands. She opened her eyes, and the calm look was gone, to be replaced by steel. "I have to defeat you, or else I won't progress!"

"I understand!" Coby replied. "_Soru_!"

"_Soru_!"

* * *

Little Death hummed to herself, as she walked across the pinkish-red grass that was made of glass. Up ahead of her, the black castle loomed. It was terrifying, but Little Death kept on going.

_Finally,_ she thought, smiling despite her fear. _I can free my Master. Then, I'll be a _real_ god...then, my Mummy will love me best..._

She swung Emma's necklace from her hand, and was about to enter the castle, when something crunched on the glass behind her, and she spun around, to see a brown-haired woman standing there.

Little Death narrowed her eyes. "What are _you_ doing here, Aunty Grace?"

"Little Death..." Grace said calmly, reaching out a hand. "_Please_ do _not_ go in there. You've caused so much trouble for us already..."

"I don't care!" Little Death snapped, clutching the necklace to her chest. "My Master can be set free with this, and I'm going to do it! My Master can make me into a _real_ god!"

"Do you _truly_ believe that Infinity will do this for you, child?" Grace asked. "Infinity is a creature that keeps on changing - once, it was pure, but it was tainted by an unspeakable nature. You _cannot_ trust it."

"I _hate_ it when people tell me what I can and can't do!" Little Death cried. "You don't know _anything_, Aunty Grace, you were born a human! I was born from Hell's Flower, I _am_ Hell's Flower! And, I'm going to become a _real_ god!" She turned, and ran to the doors of the castle, pushing them open and running through.

As Little Death was being swallowed up by the blackness, Grace felt a sense of fear and forbidding in her chest, as she watched Little Death carry her heart into the darkness.

It was only a matter of time, now...

* * *

Nobody could believe that battle that took place within the blue dome. Those who had never witnessed such a thing, stood outside looking in, and they were in complete and utter shock.

It had been going on for fifteen minutes.

Emma and Coby were both fast - super-humanly so - and they were _strong_. The force with which their punches and kicks hit were astounding, and even a few of Emma's friends were surprised. they hadn't realised how strong Emma had gotten.

Luffy, Ace, Sanji, Zoro, Garp and Sumi seemed calm about this.

Law, who was right there where the action was happening, merely smiled, as he watched the battle unfold.

True, Emma was getting hurt, but so was Coby. This was a good sign - it meant that their power levels weren't that different anymore.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Slice_!" Emma shouted, sending forth dozens of golden ribbons from her body. When they hit Coby (the ones that _did_ hit) he found them to be razor sharp, and he cried out as they tore his clothes and skin, but not _too_ much - some of them had missed, due to Emma's bad eyesight, after all.

Emma's family were shocked by this, of course - since when did _Emma_ have superpowers?

Everybody suddenly gasped, as Coby appeared behind Emma, and hit her with a well-aimed kick to the side of her face. She landed near the side of the dome, and got quickly to her feet, staggering slightly as the blood dripped from her face.

Lee gasped, and grabbed Bruce's hand. She then noticed Ace, and hurried over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"How can you just let this _happen_?!" She cried, angrily glaring at her youngest daughter's fiance.

Ace looked back at Lee - he was a few inches taller than she was. "I wonder...how _you_ and Bruce could hit your own daughter the way you both did." Lee faltered. Ace shook his head. "I'm never going to let you 'punish' her, ever again." He told them. "I know you love her, but I love her _more_ - she's _mine_." He added. "I'm going to keep her with me, and protect her. I promise you that." He added, glancing at Bruce. "I'm also not asking for permission - I'm a pirate, and I'm going to do what I feel like, anyway." He shrugged. "I'm just letting you know."

Just then, there was a yell from the crowd, and Ace and Lee turned, quickly.

Emma and Coby were running towards each other, and there was some sense of finality in this.

This was it - one of them was about to win, and the other would lose.

"_Soru_!"

"_Soru_!"

Emma and Coby appeared in the air above the grass, and time seemed to slow down when they reached each other.

Coby drew back his arm to punch, but Emma twisted her body back and, with her right arm, she caught Coby across the throat with her forearm. She then drew up her knee, and kicked him in the stomach.

The Marine gasped, and coughed up blood, slumping forwards as they fell back to earth. Emma pushed Coby away from her, and both of them landed several feet away from each other on the grass.

Everybody gasped, as the two fighters landed heavily, and then Emma staggered up, or at least tried to - she fell back, and Law caught her. He could've just controlled her, in the Room, but he didn't.

"You didn't...interfere...did you...?" She asked him, as he supported her back.

Law smirked. "Of course I didn't. I do as I'm told."

"Heh..."

Just then, a few people screamed, as a shadowy black figure appeared near the blue portal. His black robes billowed in the wind, as Twister floated down, to hover in Emma's line of sight.

"Well done, Emma." He said, in his usual tone. "You have defeated Coby."

"I didn't...kill him...did I?" Emma asked.

"You do not yet have the capability to kill sssomeone..." Twister replied. "Your powersss have grown, however - you are ssstrong enough to make the trip back to the other world, where the ressst of your Alliesss await you." He raised his scythe (a few people gasped - it was a wonder there was any air left in the vicinity). "One upon an orange lake...one trapped on a great bridge...one within the land of the dead...and, the heir to the sands, at the edge of dawn..." Twister brought down his scythe and, immediately, beams of light hit the ones who were about to be taken back to the other world.

The white light hit Coby, and carried him into the portal first.

As Law's Room disappeared, the others were picked up.

Luffy looked excited to be going home, as he was picked up by the beam of red light.

"Cool, it's like being abducted!" The seventeen year old cheered.

"How can you say it's _cool_?!" Nami, in a beam of yellow light, yelled to him.

"Calm down, Nami, this is fine." Zoro looked completely at ease in a beam of green light.

"M-m-maybe!" Chopper, in pink light, trembled. "Wh-what do _you_ think, Usopp?"

Usopp, in a beam of brownish-coloured light, didn't answer - he had fainted.

Sanji calmly lit his cigarette, and allowed the dark blue light to carry him towards the portal.

Nojiko, Sumi and Garp got picked up by white light, just like Coby, but they didn't mind, as they were carried towards the portal.

As they vanished, Ace dodged the beam of orange light, which began chasing him around, and he ran to Emma and Law (mostly Emma).

The beam of orange light hit all three of them, and then expanded, to pick up all three of them.

"I mussst warn you, though," Twister said suddenly, and the three of them looked up at him. "Little Death isss very clossse to freeing the ancccient one. When ssshe doesss, the worldsss will be dessstroyed..."

"Then we...just have...to find...our Allies..." Emma said, leaning on Law's shoulder for support - she was suddenly feeling very tired.

"Yesss...but, Emma...that necklaccce only worksss one way." Twister stated, and Emma's eyes widened. "Onccce thisss portal clossses, it closses forever."

Emma nodded. "I see...if I...don't, then...all worlds...will be...destroyed, anyways..." She shrugged. "It's okay..." Blood dripped from her face.

"Emma!" Her family called to her.

Emma's eyes opened, and she located her family amongst the crowd. They looked scared. Emma's heart wrenched. Her family...she might never see them again, but...she _had_ to do this. If she didn't, then they were all going to die, anyway.

Thinking fast, Emma reached into the pocket of her jeans, and pulled out the winning Lotto ticket. She quickly tied it up in ribbons, and threw it to her Mother.

"Mum, this is for you!" She yelled, feeling tears coming to her eyes - despite all of the times she'd argued with her parents, she couldn't quite believe that she was leaving them, maybe forever. "I won that Powerball last Saturday!" She explained. "Oh, but certain people can't have _any_ of it! Only some people can!" The tears spilled over. "I...I love you guys! Please don't forget me, and I'll try and find a way back! _Ja'ne_!"

"_EMMA_!"

And, as she vanished into the portal, a sudden thought struck Emma: _Where was Coby when the portal dragged him across?_

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Happy Anzac Day!**

**. KI = Killing Intent.**

* * *

_ .Ookami - lol, you changed your mind, just like that! Oh, I believe that you can be evil. *Nods* Madrid is the capital of Spain, isn't it? ^^ Yes, I know how you feel about wanting to see more of your home country. I want to see more of Australia, but it's just too darned big!_

_Chieko Namikzae - you're welcome. *Hands you a tissue* I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Cocoa Liddell - yeah, it _was_ pretty quick. Then again, life's too short to take certain things slowly, especially if you've got a pirate's life where you might die the next day! Oh, and happy birthday for the other day! *Hands you a cake*_

_MsWildLuck - ohoho, you'll see. *Evil* Yeah, Luffy didn't intend at _all_ to marry Emma, marriage is the _last_ thing on his mind, but the Pirate Queen thing will be explained later on. ^^ Tell Boa Hancock not to worry..._

_KaiF . Raphaella - thank you! :D_

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - Law will...not give up. ^^ ; ; Oh well. And, OMG, you were right! I hurried to fix that typo! My story isn't Beta-d (if it was, my Beta-Half would tell me to stop hyphenating unnecessarily). ^^ Thanks!_

_WindWhistle21 - should I put more parental warnings up, just in case? Don't worry, the story is rated T, not M (there is no M, there never will be any M!). XD And, by a polar bear, do you mean Bepo? Is he even CAPABLE of mauling somebody?_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - *hands both you and Bon Clay some tissues* But, how did Boa Hancock GET that Luffy poster? Hmm, a wedding? (I can imagine that Boa Hancock is picturing a double-wedding, all of a sudden). ^^_

_tanakaL - thank you so very much! :)_


	20. Tear Down The Walls

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY

Tear Down The Walls

* * *

Of course, they arrived back in the One Piece world to find themselves falling - towards the ocean, no less.

"Eek! Do something!" Nami shrieked, grabbing onto the nearest person (which happened to be Sanji, not that he minded).

Nojiko had a different train of thought. "Hey, you guys came through the portal _after_ us, so...how come we're all falling at the same time?"

"You know, I have no idea, myself." Ace admitted.

_That means they didn't hear what Twister said about not being able to return..._ Emma realised, contemplating this. _I'll have to tell them sooner or later..._

"Can we _please_ save the explanations for _later_?!" Nami, Chopper and Usopp begged.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Net_!" Emma shouted, and the red ribbons appeared from around her body, snaking quickly down towards the sea and suspending a net between two large ships that just _happened_ to be there.

Of course, it was no coincidence.

As they all landed on the ribbons, they bounced, because the ribbons acted as some form of trampoline.

It catapulted Garp and Coby (who was still unconscious) onto the Marine ship - everybody else was launched onto the deck of the Moby Dick.

There was a moment of silence, as those who could picked themselves up, shook their heads and then took a good look around.

Nami blinked, and then nodded. "Upon discovering that the Whitebeard Pirates were patrolling the East Blue, the Marines immediately sent out reinforcements to combat this, thus increasing our chances of running into them in the middle of what appears to be a very intense battle." She held her hand up in the air, emphasizing her brilliant deduction.

A few people applauded.

Zoro simply rolled his eyes. "Weren't you just screaming a moment ago?"

"Shut up, Zoro. I don't scream."

"Captain Coby!" A Marine on the other ship cried, seeing Coby's bruised and battered body. "Men, prepare to open fire on the pirates!"

Nami screamed, and Zoro face-palmed.

"Don't worry, Nami." Emma called to her. "Whitebeard-Sama can take care of this...as long as he won't kill them." She added, glancing up at the captain.

His eyes pierced into hers, and she heard that voice again.

'I hope that our children can be friends'.

Emma put a hand to her forehead, feeling her head swim, and the warm blood that was starting to stick to the side of her face. The adrenaline was gone, to be replaced by pain.

She slumped down against the side of the ship, unable to stand up any longer. As Ace and Law both reached for her, and she heard the unmistakable sound of Edward Newgate's devastating Devil Fruit powers, a voice, though not being spoken at the present time, lodged itself firmly into the back of her mind.

'Where there is the light of friendship, there will _always_ be hope, Rouge'.

* * *

When Emma awoke, she found herself in the med-bay, just like before. A bandage was wrapped around her head, and there was sticky plaster on her various scrapes and cuts but, for the main part, she was in one piece, and she was alive.

Getting out of the bed, Emma saw a backpack lying on the floor and, curious, she opened it, to find that somebody had been planning ahead, and that somebody was probably Nami - there were a few changes of clothes, as well as volume 59 of the One Piece manga (Emma hoped that Nami hadn't read it) and, for some unknown reason, the Luffy doll. But, her wallet and I-Pod were missing - damn it!

Emma returned everything that was there to the backpack, and lifted it onto her good shoulder, walking out into the hall and turning left - not that she _really_ knew where she was going. She didn't like to think of herself as lost but, after ten minutes, it was starting to feel that way.

Naturally, she ran into Zoro.

"Where are we?" They asked each other at the same time. Then: "I was hoping _you_ could tell me."

They sighed.

"Well, now what do we do?" Emma wondered, and Zoro just shrugged. Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine...I'll just go and get lost again by myself." She walked off, and Zoro followed her. "Why...?"

"I was supposed to come and find you." Zoro explained.

"Oh, I see." Emma nodded. _That was some terrible planning on _somebody's_ part_.

"Damn it..." Zoro muttered, suddenly face-palming.

"What is it?!" Emma exclaimed.

"I made a bet with Nami that I wouldn't get lost when I was down here!" Zoro exclaimed, and Emma groaned. "I should have found out what we were betting _before_ I started out!"

Emma leaned against a wall. "And you're _really_ going to be the World's Greatest Swordsman?" She asked. Zoro glared at her, and she held her hands up. "Let me put that another way." She looked at him, and then looked away. "_I_ believe you can do it, but you've got a long way to go (not that I know anything about swordsmanship). You know what would be _really_ good? If you were trained by that _one_ guy..." She suggested.

"You mean by Mihawk?" Zoro asked in disbelief. He shook his head. "I _seriously_ doubt _that's_ ever gonna happen..." He then looked suspiciously at her. "_Unless_..."

"Mmhmm." She nodded, in answer to his unspoken question. "Of course, since I messed up _that_ storyline, I can't tell you how or when that's going to happen now but, trust me, it will. If it's meant to happen, then it will." She smiled at him, and then thought of something. "_If_ we ever make it out of this place. I really don't want to have to resort to cannibalism or something, but..."

Zoro gave her a Look. "Don't even _try_ it, ribbon girl."

She laughed. "Oh yeah, _that_ hurt, that _really_ hurt - sword boy."

"Hn." Zoro just rolled his eyes, and then cringed, as Nami walked around the corner.

"A-ha!" The orange-haired girl cried, pointing triumphantly at him. "See, I _knew_ you couldn't do this without getting lost, Zoro!" She held up a box that she had somehow snagged from Emma's world. "And, as your punishment, I've already reserved the black dye with your name on it! It's called 'We'll Dye For You'!" She grinned evilly.

Zoro gritted his teeth, looking panicked. "You _wouldn't_!"

"Unless you're going to pay me what this dye cost me..." Nami suggested.

"You witch, you probably shoplifted it!" Zoro snapped, backing away from her. _This is bad! If she manages to dye my hair black, then that ero-cook will start calling me 'tar head' or something!_

* * *

Emma came up onto the deck, to find most of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates, as well as Nojiko.

"Glad to see you're up and about." The blue-haired woman said, as she hugged Emma briefly. "Where's my sister?"

"Nami's chasing Zoro around with a bottle of Starry Night Blue Black." Emma explained. "I wouldn't get in the way if I were you." She said, just as she was nearly tackled over by Monkey D. Luffy.

"You're okay!" He cheered, hugging her tightly, and she tried not to wince - some of those cuts were still stinging!

"Y-yes?" Emma stammered, as the rest of Luffy's crew came up to her. "Wh-where's Ace-Chan?" She wanted to know.

"Talking with Whitebeard and Sumi-Chan." Sanji explained, lighting a cigarette. "Also...Emma-Chwan, are you hungry? Thirsty, perhaps? You've been asleep for nearly a day..."

"A _day_?!" Emma exclaimed, looking horrified. "I've been asleep for a _day_?!"

"_Daijoubu_." A calm voice said from beside her, and she turned to see Law. "Your body needed time to recover from something it's never done before, or else you would have hurt yourself more. It _will_ require some form of nutrients now."

Emma nodded. "_H-hai_, _demo_...I want to see Ace-Chan, first." She said, firmly, and noticed a dark look cross Law's eyes.

Marco suddenly appeared, smiling. "I can take you to see Ace, yoi." He told her. "_Oyaji_ wishes to see you, as well." He turned to Sanji. "If you feel like cooking, then go and see the chef - I'm sure he'll appreciate the help."

Sanji nodded, and rolled up his sleeves, heading off in the direction of the galley, as Marco led Emma to the captain's quarters.

As they approached the doors, said doors were suddenly thrown open, and a blonde-haired figure in a pink dress came running out, sobbing.

"_Sumi-Chan_?!" Emma exclaimed, as the younger girl ran past her, but Sumi didn't stop, and instead activated her wings, flying up towards the yard-arm. "Sumi-Chan...?" Emma bit on her thumb-nail, and then turned, as a second figure had appeared at the doors. It was Ace.

"Emiko..." Ace muttered, before wrapping his arms around his fiancee.

"Ace-Chan, what's wrong with Sumi-Chan?" Emma murmured into the young man's chest.

He ran a hand through her dark red hair. "Don't worry...Sumi just found out something she's been dreading hearing..."

Emma glanced worriedly up at him. "Like what?"

Ace shook his head. There was a dark look in his brown eyes. "Don't worry." He repeated, putting an arm around her shoulders and guiding her into the captain's quarters. "Come on, _Oyaji_ wants to see you."

* * *

_~Flash-Back~_

_"I'm going to tell him." Sumi sighed, dangling her legs over the edge of the crows nest, a slight breeze billowing her blonde hair about her shoulders. "I think..._maybe_..."_

_"You're hesitating because you think he'll kick you out, aren't you?" Thatch smiled, leaning his elbows on the edge next to her._

_"Yes!" Sumi muttered, digging her fingertips into the rough wood. "Thatch-Sama...I...I'm so scared to tell him, but if he finds out _before_ I do, then it'll be worse...right?"_

_"What makes you think he'll blame you for it?" Thatch asked her. "The way I see it, it's not your fault _who_ your Mother is. Nobody can blame you for who she is."_

_"I know..." Sumi muttered, looking up at the sunset. "I'm not terribly fond of her, Thatch-Sama..." That was Sumi talk for 'I hate her'. "She...she sold me to that Celestial Dragon...I don't owe her _anything_...and, I'm _nothing_ like her...but...she's still my Mother..."_

_"I know." Thatch responded, placing a hand on her knee in a comforting gesture._

_He was one of the few men that Sumi would allow to touch _any_ part of her - her experiences with men had _not_ been good ones._

_Sumi swallowed. "I just...wonder how Oyaji will react when I tell him...that my Mother is a Government assassin...?"_

_"He'll probably say something along the lines of 'it doesn't matter, as we're all children of the sea'." Thatch suggested._

_"What does that even _mean_?"_

_"I have _no_ idea."_

* * *

"So, what do you intend to do now?" Whitebeard asked, before taking another swig of sake.

Ace began: "We're going to find..."

"Our other Allies." Emma finished for him. "And stop Infinity before it destroys our worlds." She added, nodding to herself.

Whitebeard gazed steadily at them (how did he _always_ manage to look so steady when he was _always_ drinking sake?). "Then, in that case, you might want to take a look at this." He handed them a newspaper, which they took a look at. Below a section that appeared to have been torn off, there was the article which headline read:

**Ship Belonging To Straw Hat Pirates Appears Out Of Nowhere On Outskirts Of Orange Town - Local Dog Helps Fights Off Bandits!**

"Oh my God..." Emma stared at the picture of the Thousand Sunny - there was no mistaking it. It was right there, on a lake...it looked like it really _had_ just fallen out of the sky! "The Thousand Sunny...it's right _there_, but..." She glanced at Ace, and he nodded.

"It's a trap." The other pirate confirmed. "The Marines will be right there, waiting to get us."

"Agreed." Emma nodded. "Still...I'm remembering something that Twister said...he said that one of our Allies was going to be found on an 'orange lake'...unless there's going to be some pond made of orange Fanta, then I think that one of our Allies is with the ship." She stood up, and walked across the room, pacing. "If that's the case, then..."

"We need to go there." Ace shrugged. "Sounds simple."

"Yeah..." Emma mused, a photograph catching her eye. She squinted at it, and leaned down to look closer. It showed a younger Edward Newgate (not _too_ much younger, he looked to be about fifty or so) with his arm around _the_ most beautiful woman that Emma had ever seen. The woman had beautiful rich red hair and deep brown eyes, and there was a bundle of blankets in her arms - and, in that bundle of blankets, was a baby.

Without even being aware of what she was doing, Emma reached out and picked up the photo in its frame, holding it up to eye-level.

Whitebeard had...had a wife? Or, at least a partner...but, a _baby_?

When had this happened? (she didn't even want to consider _how_ it had happened...).

And...where were they now?

"Family," Whitebeard said from behind her, and she jumped - she'd forgotten that he was even there. "Is something that is worth more than money or gold. It is the most precious thing to us, as human-beings - it can also be taken from us in the blink of an eye."

Emma understood immediately, and she was surprised to find tears in her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. She then set the photo down and turned around, not looking at either of the two men.

"After all of this is over," she stated, in a far stronger voice than she'd realised she was capable of using. "Ace and I shall be getting married. Therefore, I believe that it is only right that I start addressing you as _Oyaji_...if that's okay, that is?" She lowered her head, swallowing, and then dared to look back up.

Ace looked surprised, but the expression on Whitebeard's face was unreadable. Finally, the old sea captain nodded. "If you desire to do so, then you may." He replied.

Emma smiled her lopsided smile, and was dimly aware that the beautiful lady in the photograph had a crooked smile as well - kind of like Elvis and Lisa-Marie Presley. "_Arigatoo_..._Oyaji_..."

Ace was grinning too, as he got up and took Emma's hand. He was happy that Emma had just done what she did.

"Now," Whitebeard took another drink of sake. "You two brats go and sort yourselves out - go and find your other Allies." He watched them leave, hand-in-hand, and then he got up, rearranging the tubes connected to his IV, so that he was able to go over to the chest-of-drawers and take out a small, treasure-chest-shaped box.

Inside was a small, pinkish-white shell. Most people would think that it was either a Tone Dial or a Vision Dial, but it was actually both.

It did not come from the mortal world.

Whitebeard pressed the button on the shell and, at once, a holographic image appeared above it, similar to the one that usually appeared above Emma's compass.

Well, it _should_ have been similar - after all, it was from the same place.

The beautiful red-haired lady appeared in the image, holding in her arms their child. She was small, despite both her parents being big, but she cooed, and reached up her hands.

The red-haired woman began to sing:

"_No one, could ever see,_

_The best of me,_

_Somehow, all I can ever show,_

_Are the things no one wants to know..._

_Please take, my hand,_

_Tell me that you understand,_

_I need a new start,_

_I need you to heal my heart..._"

Whitebeard closed his eyes briefly, listening to the song, and the sounds of his daughter's laughter. He had lost both of them, or so he'd thought...only time would tell...

* * *

"Okay, so we're here," Nami said, pointing at the map with one hand - with the other hand, she ate apricot chicken. "And we need to get to _there_." She moved her hand across the map, tracing a short line to an island that read ~Orange Town~. "That should only take us about a day, if we keep moving at this speed. I can't wait." She smiled, and took a big bite of apricot chicken.

"Yeah, and then we just have to...sneak past a bunch of Marines." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Piece of cake." Ace grinned.

"I can't wait to see the Thousand Sunny again!" Chopper spoke up.

"It'll be good once we find our own ship." Usopp agreed. "It's kind of weird, being here on an unfamiliar ship." He then glanced at Ace, who had glanced up at him. "Oh, not that your _crew-mates_ are weird, it's just...did that guy over there eat a Devil Fruit that turns his body into _diamonds_?" He pointed at Jozu.

Nami looked up, her eyes sparkling.

"Don't even _think_ about it, sis." Nojiko rolled her eyes. "He is _not_ the type I had in mind when I..."

"Finish that sentence," Nami cut her off, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "And I'll tell _everybody_ here about that _incident_ with the bee-hive."

Nojiko sat back. "I have underestimated your ruthlessness, sister dear."

"I'm merely getting by in this cold, cruel world." Nami replied, smugly.

Luffy tapped Emma's arm. "Hey, Emmy, is that what sisters are supposed to be like?"

Emma froze slightly, thinking about her own sister, and then she nodded. "Yeah...oh!" She stood up quickly. "I just forgot something that I have to do!" She hurried out of the dining hall.

The others watched her go.

"What's up with her?" Zoro asked, reaching for a beer refill.

Ace and Law exchanged a glance - despite being enemies to a degree, they were still both concerned about how Emma was handling her transition. They both knew the reasons behind her sudden, unexpected departure, especially before finishing her bacon (which Luffy had now taken and was eating).

"Well..." Ace began. "It's about that necklace..."

* * *

Emma had hoped to find the crows nest empty but, somehow, it seemed to be Sumi's favourite spot, as well.

Sumi sat with her back against the side of the crows nest, her knees drawn up tight to her chest.

"Sumi-Chan?" Emma asked, seeing that the younger girl looked upset. She knelt down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Sumi glanced up at her, her teal eyes full of distress. "Oh, Emma-Chan..." She sniffled. "N-nothing, it's just..." She sighed. "I just received some news today..." She took a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, and handed it to Emma.

Unfolding it, Emma took a look at it. It was a newspaper article, that Emma realised must have been torn out of the newspaper, from the same page as the news about the Thousand Sunny.

It was a list of executions scheduled for that week, and one particular name had been circled in red ink: **Ino**. The image showed a blonde-haired, blue-eyed lady with a sharp face.

Emma glanced up at Sumi, and Sumi explained: "That woman, Ino...she's my Mother..."

"Oh..." Emma gasped softly. "Sumi-Chan, I...I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be." Sumi replied, shaking her head. "She sold me into slavery when I was eight." Emma was shocked. "It's just...I don't understand _why_ she's being executed..." Sumi glanced up at Emma. "Emma-Chan...my Mother, Ino, she...she used to work for the Government...for CP9..." Emma tried to keep the stunned look off her face, but couldn't stop herself from gasping again, when Sumi added: "She's the one who killed Oyaji's daughter."

Emma sat back, feeling stunned. She didn't know what to do, or say, so she didn't do or say anything. The silence grew between them, until Sumi finally turned away, looking up instead at the countless number of stars up in the sky.

"I only found out today...that it was my Mother who did it..." Sumi whispered. "I _can't_ believe that she...that _anybody_ could..." Her eyes had filled with tears again. "I'm _ashamed_ of being related to her!"

Emma closed her eyes briefly, and then moved closer to Sumi, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sumi-Chan...the World Government hunts people down for their lineage. They consider this to be an act of justice. But, when a child is born into this world, it has no sense of the sins of its parents. It's true, that we as human-beings learn by example, but..." She smiled slightly. "It's the actions of ourselves, _not_ of our parents, that determine _who_ we are, and _what_ we are but, in the end...we're all just children of the sea, right?"

Sumi stared at her, her teal eyes swimming with tears, and then she threw her arms around Emma's neck, sobbing.

"_Daijoubu_..." Emma whispered, patting the younger girl on the back.

"I have to go..." Sumi muttered, burying her face in the side of Emma's neck, and her tears splashed down onto Emma's skin. "I have to go to that place...I have to see my Mother..."

"I understand..." Emma replied. "It'll be alright. You'll see..."

Sumi nodded, and draw back from Emma, smiling slightly, as they both stood up, and Sumi snapped out the kinks in her legs with very satisfying _cracks_. "_Arigatoo_, Emma-Chan...also, there's something that I have to tell you. You're...hmm...?" She suddenly looked past Emma, and then she pushed past her, leaning over the side of the crows nest and staring at the dark water on the starboard side.

The waters churned, and then something very large surfaced from beneath the black waves.

Sumi froze, as she and Emma stared at whatever it was that had just surfaced.

"Is that..." Emma squinted, so much that her eyes hurt. "A..._submarine_?" _Could it be...?_

Sumi nodded, and then she yelled: "_Unidentified submarine starboard_!"

Emma was staring, as the door to the yellow submarine opened, and a figure in an orange jumpsuit emerged, at a run. She leaned further forwards. "Hmm...?" She looked down, and pinpointed her target. _Forget asking for permission_! She suddenly leaped out of the crows nest.

Law hurried up from below deck onboard the Moby Dick and went over to the railing on the starboard side, just in time to see the woman he loved come flying out of the crows nest, and crash-tackle one of his crew members.

"_Bepo_!" Emma cried, hugging the poor, startled bear. "You are so _cute_!" She then jumped back, looking apologetic. "Oh...I forgot to ask for permission to hug you...I told Law-San that I would ask..." She bowed. "My apologies."

"It was my fault." Bepo replied, bowing back and looking depressed.

"Why does Bepo get all the ladies?" Penguin muttered, as he came up on deck, as well.

"How should I know?" Shachi replied, with a shrug. "More importantly, who is she, and how does she know the captain?"

Law then jumped down from the Moby Dick, landing on the deck of the submarine.

"_Captain_!" Bepo, Shachi and Penguin exclaimed, as the other five members of the crew emerged, looking stunned to see their captain there.

Law smiled at them, glad to see them, although he wasn't going to admit this. "May I ask why you're here in the East Blue?" He asked them.

"Well," Penguin replied. "We heard rumors that you'd been sighted here - the Marines are all over the place."

"But, luckily, with a submarine, you can get by undetected?" Emma asked shyly, and then she gasped. "Wait a minute...undetected..." She clasped her hands suddenly. "That...that's _it_!" She hurried over to Law and hugged him swiftly. "Law-San, this has just solved our problem! _Yes_! I _love_ you and your crew!" She cheered, and then added: "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_!"

As she disappeared in a swirl of ribbons, all eyes turned to Law, who seemed nonchalant.

"When did the captain get a girlfriend?" Hachi whispered.

"Oh jeez, now _I'm_ the one who's depressed." Penguin sighed. "She was kind of cute, too."

"In a hyperactive way." Hachi added.

"What was that?" Law raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, Captain!"

* * *

"So, we're going to travel with Law's crew to get to Orange Town undetected?" Chopper said, as they stood around on the deck, waiting for the girls.

"Well, we are." Zoro said, indicating to himself and the rest of the males. "I think some of the girls are staying behind."

"Nooo!" Sanji wailed, looking distressed. "They _caaan't_!"

"He's referring to the fact that they take so long to get ready." Usopp muttered.

"No," Zoro shook his head. "I mean some of them _are_ staying behind..."

"I have to stay behind." Sumi confirmed, coming up onto the deck, with the other girls behind her. "We're taking Nojiko back to her home, and then...there's something I have to do."

"You sure you'll be alright?" Ace asked her.

Sumi nodded. "_Hai_, Ace-Kun. You don't have to worry about me." She grinned. "Also," she tugged Emma into view. "Check out your girlfriend's new wardrobe!"

"Sumi-Chan!" Emma exclaimed, embarrassed. She glanced over at Ace.

Ace was staring at Emma's new outfit. It was completely different from her usual 'cover-up-as-much-as-possible' outfits, although Sumi and the sisters hadn't been able to steer the red-head _completely_ away from black, either.

She was wearing tight black shorts under a short pink skirt, and a rather skimpy black top that tied at the front. On her arms were black and pink arm bands, and she had black knee-guards on, as well as black ankle boots (without a heel because, when she'd tried to walk in heels before, she'd tripped over, much to Nami's disbelief) and a black headband over her bandages.

"Here," Sumi stuck something pink onto Emma's head. "Put on your hat." She adjusted the pink hat, that looked like the one Dixie Kong wore in her video games.

Emma blushed, embarrassed at all the attention. Her scars were completely visible now, as was the slight tan-line on her stomach, but the other girls had assured her that those things didn't matter.

As they prepared to board the submarine and ship out, they said goodbye to Sumi and Nojiko.

"I'll call you when we reach Cocoyashi Village." Sumi said, pointing to the Baby Den-Den Mushi on Emma's arm. She then looked at Ace, and muttered: "Also, watch out for you-know-who."

Ace nodded. "Will do."

"Who?" Emma asked, looking between the two of them. "Who's he gotta watch out for?"

"Never mind." Sumi shook her head, before hugging Emma. "Just stay true, okay?"

"Huh?"

Nami was hugging Nojiko. "Stay safe." The orange-haired woman whispered.

Nojiko grinned, and ruffled said orange hair. "Shouldn't _I_ be saying that to _you_, little sister?"

Nami grinned. "Just because you're the oldest, doesn't mean you get to order me around."

"Ah, yes it does." Nojiko replied, and they both laughed.

"Ah, the life of an older sibling." Ace grinned. "We're constantly worrying."

Nojiko winked at him. "See, Ace knows what I mean." She glanced at Emma, who was looking a little bit wistful but, before she could say anything, a member of Law's crew called that they were ready to depart.

They descended down the ladder to Law's submarine (well, some of them used the ladder - Luffy jumped, and Usopp fell).

"Come on, we'll show you around before we dive." Penguin said. "Captain's orders." He added.

"Lead the way!" Luffy grinned, as they followed Penguin deeper into the sub.

Emma and Ace turned to say goodbye to Whitebeard.

"Be careful, you two." The old man said gravely, glancing up at the sky. The moon was waning - soon, it would disappear completely. "I have a bad feeling about the road that lies ahead of you."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine, _Oyaji_." Ace replied, preparing the climb down the ladder, but Emma stopped him.

"Let me go first." Emma said.

"Why?" Ace asked.

She glared at him. "Because I'm wearing a skirt!"

As Ace blushed, a few of the Whitebeard crew members laughed.

"Yeah, way to go, Ace!"

"A bit forward there, aren't you?!"

"Make sure you get a good look down her top when you're climbing down that ladder!"

Emma glared at them too, for good measures, before turning to smile at Whitebeard. "Bye, _Oyaji_." She said, and everybody stopped, hearing her call him that for the first time. She then turned to Ace, and said: "_Ribon-Ribon No...Grab_!" Red ribbons snaked out of her arms, and wrapped around Ace, effectively capturing him. He could have just burned them off, but he didn't want to, because he didn't know whether or not that would hurt her as well. She then jumped over the side of the ship with him, calling out: "_Ribon-Ribon No Kite_!" Which formed a parachute that let them land gently on the deck of the submarine.

"She's got him wrapped around her little finger, hasn't she?" Marco mused thoughtfully, smiling.

"I heard that, phoenix boy!" Emma yelled from below. Then: "Bye, _minna_! I hope we meet up again real soon!"

The others were smiling by this stage - it seemed like they'd just gotten a new sister, and they hoped that they'd see her again as well.

As they stood at the railing and watched the sub dive, Sumi and Nojiko stood side-by-side, watching their friends and family go.

* * *

"So, when we reach Orange Town, what are we going to do?" Nami asked, and then looked up to realise that she might as well be talking to a brick wall.

Usopp, Chopper, Luffy and Zoro were asleep. Sanji was staring at Nami, but whether he was listening to her or admiring her figure, Nami knew not (she suspected the latter). Ace and Law were more concerned over Emma, who was looking a little pale.

Nami couldn't blame her - it was the first time in a submarine for most of them, and Emma seemed to be the type that preferred wide open spaces to hot and stuffy confined spaces below sea level.

"Oh, _forget_ it." Nami sighed, marching over to the door as Ace fell asleep all of a sudden. "They'll _discontinue_ it before you lot tune in. I'm going to bed - wake me if anything happens." She opened the door, and Penguin and Shachi fell into the room, staring up at Nami and blushing. Nami glared down at them, crossing her arms over her chest. "And, you two would be staring up at me _why_?"

"Ah..." Shachi stammered.

Nami sighed. "I thought so." She stooped down, and held out her hand. "That'll be five hundred Belli."

"F-f-five hundred Belli?!" Penguin exclaimed.

Nami nodded. "Five hundred Belli - _each_." She added. "I don't let people see my panties for free, you know."

_I wonder what Brook would say to that..._ Emma thought, and then groaned, feeling nausea rising in her stomach. _Please don't let me throw up in front of everybody..._

Law sighed. "Come on, Emma-San - I have some ginger tablets you can take, and then you should get some rest. You're still recovering."

"_Iie_, I'm fine..." She said, as she staggered to her feet. "Everybody else...can take on a Marine, and not be sick as dog for days..."

"Hn." Law just shrugged, and took her by the shoulder. "Come on."

She allowed him to lead her out of the room, side-stepping Penguin and Hachi, who were begging for mercy from an unforgiving Nami.

* * *

Emma sat on the bed of the med-bay, staring out the porthole at the ocean. A little fish swam by, and then it was eaten by a bigger fish. An even _bigger_ fish ate that one, and then _it_ was eaten by the biggest fish of them all! It glared at her with its huge red eyes as it swum lazily by. It had spikes all along its side.

Emma turned back to Law, who was getting the ginger tablets out of a cupboard. "_Ne_, Law-San, are we safe down here?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling. "Are you doubting me?"

She cringed. "N-no...not at all." She assured him, leaning back against her pillows. "It's just that...reading about this place is so different from _experiencing_ it..." She closed her eyes briefly. "I'm glad I came here, though - this place is _awesome_." She opened her eyes, as Law came over to the bed, and handed her the tablets and a glass of water.

"These will help ease your sickness."

She nodded. "_Arigatoo_, Law-San..." She took the tablets, and immediately a wave of sleepiness washed over her - maybe the sensation of taking tablets made her sleepy, or maybe she was simply just exhausted.

As she fell to sleep, she felt Law place a cold hand to the side of her face. "I'm also glad you came here...Emma-San..." He then frowned, realising that her sapphire necklace was glowing. _Oh, here we go again..._

* * *

_Sakazuki walked across the courtyard of the recently established Marine base in the particular country that he was in. He was walking towards a post, to which a woman was tied to._

_Behind him walked Carmilla and her little sister, Georgia. Carmilla's face was expressionless, but Georgia looked worried - she kept glancing around her, as if looking for something._

_Emma and Law kept to the shadows, hiding behind a pillar that decorated the side of the corridor. They watched as Sakazuki approached the woman, who raised her head._

_It was Sumi's Mother, Ino._

_Emma gasped, and Law clapped a hand over her mouth to quiet her, as Carmilla glanced back, and Law dragged Emma further back into the shadows._

_"How is it that we're here?" He asked her, in a voice barely above a whisper, as he let go of her._

_She shook her head. "I don't know." She muttered back. "The red necklace must transport me to this world when I'm sleeping, since it works both ways but, when I'm in _this_ world, the one-way necklace teleports me to certain places...or...something..." She shrugged, and they both turned back to watch what was happening._

_"You know why you're here, Ino." Sakazuki said coldly, staring down at the weak woman. "You are a traitor."_

_She raised her head, however, a firm look in her eyes. "You're mistaken...if you think that I...was anything but loyal to you, Sakazuki..."_

_"You lied to us all those years ago." Sakazuki replied. "You told us that you killed the daughter of Edward Newgate, but _she's still alive_!"_

_Law had to cover Emma's mouth with _both_ of his hands then, to stop her from gasping again._

_Ino looked startled, and seemed to have more energy than she probably had since her arrest. "What?! No, that's not...I _killed_ her, I killed that brat with my own two hands! You _have_ to believe me, please, Saka-Chan..."_

_Sakazuki hooked the left side of her face with his right fist, making Georgia gasp as Ino's blood dotted the ground._

_"Do not _ever_ call me that again." Sakazuki said, coldly. "Not after the way you defiled our family's name. It's _your_ fault what our daughter has become."_

_Law felt something cold and wet on his hands, and realised that Emma was crying silently - tears slid unhindered down her face, as she learned the truth behind Sumi's past._

_law had to admit to himself that he was surprised, as well - sweet and hyperactive Sumi, the daughter of a heartless child-killer and one of the Government's most ruthless Admirals?_

_Then again, Ino _had_ given Sumi up for slavery, so..._

_"I thought you said..." Ino said, looking angrily up at Sakazuki, with blood decorating her lips and chin. "That Sumi was...no child of ours."_

_Sakazuki leaned down, looking at Ino in the eyes. "You will both die here, Ino - I can promise you _that_."_

_Carmilla suddenly spoke up. "It might interest you to know, Sakazuki, that this conversation is no longer private." She pointed to the shadows, where the faint outline of two figures could be seen._

_"_Dai Funka_!" Sakazuki shouted, without hesitation, and aimed his magma-fist straight at Emma and Law._

_Emma stepped quickly in front of Law, and held her arms out wide. "_Ribon-Ribon No Guard_!" She yelled, and red ribbons fanned out around her, followed by gold ones._

_The effects were different from her usual shield. The red ribbons did a good job of blocking quite a bit of the powerful Logia attack, but that which got through to the gold ribbons was a different story._

_Emma cried out, as she felt heat searing at the skin of her arms, and Law realised immediately what must be happening. Emma's ribbons were usually not strong enough to block Logia attacks - she'd found that out during a training session with Ace. To combat this, she and her powers had forged a new technique, but it came with a cost - it was damaging her, possibly at only half-strength but, if it kept on going, then it could get worse._

_Law made his decision then, and grabbed her, yanking her out of the way of the onslaught of lava, and dragging her further into the darkness of the Marine base. They had only seconds - Sakazuki would be coming after them._

_Law to to think of a way to startle Emma enough to wake her up, so that they could get back to the sub. There was only one thing to do._

_Law stopped, grabbed Emma by the wrists (they both winced when his fingers curled around slightly charred skin) and yanked her towards him, kissing her on the lips._

_Her eyes widened, and he felt her heart pound in her chest, which was up against his stomach (why was she so Goddam _short_?!)._

_It had worked, however - both of them vanished in a swirl of ribbons, just as Sakazuki, Carmilla and Georgia appeared, their faces illuminated by the heat of the Admiral's magma._

_Sakazuki was furious._

_Carmilla was stunned._

_Georgia, however, took a half step forward, her hand outstretched as if she could reach out and bring her former classmate back. "Emma..." She whispered._ What in the world are you_?_

* * *

"Tell me again what happened." Ace said tensely. "Clearly, _please_." He added, glaring at the surgeon.

"I cannot be anymore clear, than how crystal clear I am _being_, Fire-Fist." Law replied calmly, although his insides were twisted with slight worry, as he worked to tend to Emma's burns. First she'd gotten hurt fighting that pink-haired Marine, and then she'd gotten burned by an _Admiral_ - she was going to be the death of him, if not of herself.

"She's gonna be okay, right? _Right_?!" Luffy asked anxiously and, at the sound of this, Emma turned her head to him.

"Of course I am, kid chops." She said, smiling. "As long as I stop falling asleep."

"You can't stop falling asleep!" Chopper exclaimed. "It's bad for you!"

"And this _isn't_?" Emma held up her bandaged wrist. Chopper's shoulders sagged. Emma sighed. "_Gomen_...I'm just so worried...we can't get in contact with Sumi-Chan...and now we know Akainu's actually her _Father_..." She looked away. "Do you think that she knows?" She looked over at Ace. "Ace-Chan, she already hates herself because of what her Mother did, but now we know that _Oyaji's_ daughter is still _alive_! Where do you think she is? Do you think we can find her?"

"Emma-San," Law said, before Ace could respond. He finished tying the last bandage, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Stop worrying." He looked right into her eyes. "You also need to stop wearing that necklace." He added.

Emma swallowed, and then realised that he was right. She allowed him to take it off of her. It glittered strangely in the light. At once, Emma felt strangely lighter, but she also felt weaker. "I need...to get my red necklace back..." She decided. "Then...I can...get stronger..."

As she fell back to sleep, the others watched her for a moment.

"Okay," Nami said quietly, looking around at them all. "Here's what I think we should do - we should focus on finding our Allies, and not worry about the things that we have no control over."

Zoro nodded. "That sounds sensible..." He glanced at Emma, who had a worried frown on her face as she slept. "Of course, that's also easier said than done."

"Yes, there's that, too." Nami agreed.

* * *

"We're about to surface." Law's navigator said. "The island in the Organ Archipelago where Orange Town is is situated just near a steep drop-off - you'll be able to walk to the island across a sand-bar from there."

"Good work." Law nodded. "Bepo, tell the crew to prepare to surface."

"Yes, Captain!" Bepo replied, and hurried off.

Law turned to the others, and watched as Emma and Ace stood together in the corner of the room. Emma had her back to the wall, and Ace was leaning one arm in the wall above her head.

Law's face was calm, but on the inside he saw red. _He_ should have been the one to stand there like that and, every time Ace did something like this with Emma, it was like he was waving a red flag in front of the surgeon's face...no, wait, scratch that, Ace _was_ the red flag.

Law would take great pleasure in goring him.

Of course, there was the slight problem that Emma and Ace were now engaged to be married. That ring that glittered on Emma's finger, the ring that was the mate to the ring that Ace wore, taunted Law every time he saw it.

Law wasn't going to give up - _ever_. He didn't know what it was that drew him to Emma. There was _something_ about her. He knew that people said that all the time, as a justification to their own foolish feelings, but that was the only logical explanation as to _why_ the sadistic and cold surgeon could have warmed slightly.

Of course, he was still sadistic and cold, but that didn't mean that he didn't want somebody like Emma to be _his_.

Ace always seemed to take every opportunity to prove, for now, that Emma was _his_.

As the sub rose towards the surface, Law watched Emma stagger, and Ace caught her.

Yes, Law was certain - Ace knew _exactly_ what he was doing.

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for us to be walking _straight_ towards a town that's possibly crawling with Marines?" Usopp asked, as they strolled casually towards Orange Town.

"Oh, sure, why not?" Luffy grinned. "I gotta get some meat!"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Is meat _all_ you ever think of, Luffy?" She asked him.

"_Iie_." He shook his head, and ticked off on his fingers. "I think about becoming the Pirate King, then there's meat, I think about my nakama, and...meat. That's about it."

The others just stared at him.

"What?"

"You said meat twice." Chopper pointed out.

"Oh. Is that bad?" Luffy asked, glancing suspiciously at Nami. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing." Nami just shook her head, but then she smiled, looking around. "It's so nice to be back here, but I had no idea there was a lake on this island. Where do you suppose it is?"

"Dunno." Zoro shrugged. "We'd better find somebody and ask them."

"What about the Mayor?" Emma suggested. "He seemed to like you three...what was his name again? Google or something?"

Nami giggled. "That's _Boodle_ and, yeah, he was pretty thankful to us for saving his town." She glared at Luffy. "And then _somebody_ left behind _the loot_!"

Luffy just gave her an odd look. "You're _still_ on about that?"

Nami just continued to glare at him.

"Besides, they needed to rebuild their town." Zoro reminded her. He stopped walking suddenly. "And, speaking of which..."

Everybody else stopped, and looked at him, before looking at what he was looking at.

"Is that...?" Luffy stared at the builders, who were working on a nearby building. They were hammering, sawing, carrying bits of wood, and eating foot-long sandwiches (which is probably what caught Luffy's attention first).

Nami blinked. "It _can't_ be..._can_ it?"

"Huh?" An old man suddenly turned around, and saw them. "Oh...it's you three!" He shouted, and ran towards them.

Nami, Zoro and Luffy cringed.

The old guy slid to a stop before them, panting a bit from his short run, and then he straightened up, and pointed dramatically at them. "Welcome back!" He yelled.

Most of the pirates face-palmed, but Luffy just grinned. "Hi, old man! Got any meat?"

* * *

"So, you're here to get your ship back, are you?" Boodle shook his head. "You were very foolish to come here - the Marines are stationed in camps all around the perimeter of Lake Waikikamukow."

Luffy and Usopp snickered at the name, but Nami was serious. "We knew that they'd be here, but we're not going to let them take our ship."

"Well, that's just the thing." Boodle replied. "The Marines _can't_ take your ship anywhere - it's there purely as bait."

"We know." Ace nodded. "But, we're not afraid of them."

Boodle narrowed his eyes. "I know you...you're Fire-Fist Ace, the Pirate King's son!" He pointed at Ace, who suddenly went very quiet.

All of the workers stopped what they were doing, and stared at them.

Ace gripped the wood of the seat he was sitting on. Heat pulsed from his fingers, and burned the wood.

Emma glanced at him, and then her gaze drifted around, looking for something, _anything_, to distract them from this situation, and her eyes fell on a series of Wanted posters on a wall across the square.

"Huh?" She suddenly narrowed her eyes, and then she gasped, jumping up and dashing across the square. Everybody watched as she snatched a particular Wanted poster off of the wall, and stared at it.

"Oh." Boodle said, squinting at Emma now, as she stood frozen, with the Wanted poster held numbly in her hands. "I didn't recognize her before, with all those bandages on, but now I see...she's the girl on that Wanted poster."

"_NANI_?!" Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, Nami and Chopper yelled.

Law looked startled, which was rare for him.

Ace looked shocked.

Luffy, however, had started grinning, and then he laughed. "_Shishishi_ - this is _great_!"

"How can you call it _great_?!" Nami and Sanji shouted, hitting Luffy across the head.

"How much is her bounty?" Zoro asked Boodle.

"Well, I must admit, I was surprised at first." Boodle admitted. "She didn't look like much, so I figured that the eight 'nines' on the poster were just typos..."

"NINETY-NINE MILLION NINE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE BELLIS?!" Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, Nami and Chopper screamed.

Ace shook his head. "Oh, now they're just taunting her. Making it one Belli off of her becoming a Supernova..." He glanced over at Emma, who was still standing there, as if frozen.

"What's her epithet?" Nami asked, looking like she was about to hyperventilate. _Emma has a Wanted poster - bounty hunters will be coming after her, now! I thought that the Government wanted her alive!_

"Demon Of War." A random worker called over to them.

"_Shishishi_," Luffy laughed. "That sounds _cool_!"

"It's not _cool_!" Sanji scolded him. "My poor Emma-Chwan...hunted like the rest of us..." He shook his head sadly.

"Well, she _is_ a pirate." Law stated calmly, leaning back in his chair. "I don't think being hunted is what she's concerned about." He added, and they all glanced over at Emma.

She had started shaking, and then she yelled, for the world to hear: "HOW THE HELL DID THEY GET MY DRIVER'S LICENSE PHOTO?!"

* * *

Whitebeard sat onboard the Moby Dick, staring at the Wanted poster in his hands. So, the little brat was on a Wanted poster now? She still had a long way to go before she was in the big leagues but, for sure, this was a good start for her.

Whitebeard felt a strange sense of pride for the young woman, which went beyond acquaintances. He had fully accepted her as one of his daughters by this stage - he would be keenly watching her progress as a pirate, although she was still just a kid. She'd better not start thinking she was all that, or else she'd got cut down in an instant. She didn't seem that type, though...

There was, however, something strange about her...something Grace had hinted on that night a few weeks ago, and it was something that Whitebeard had been wondering about.

Whitebeard sighed, placing the poster down next to him. There was a lot of speculation surrounding Emma Liefde Pax, and only time would tell what she was going to do for the troubled realms...

* * *

"So, how are we going to get to the ship?" Nami asked, as they examined a map of the layout of the island. "Then, we can focus on trying to get it _off_ the island..."

"All the while dodging Marines." Sanji lit a cigarette, and took a long drag from it.

Nami nodded. "Yeah...Boodle said that they're located here, here, here, here, here and here," she drew X's with a pen. "And, that their main force is located in a temporary stronghold _here_." She drew a circle around the area on a cliff right behind the lake with a weird name. The navigator sighed. "We need a plan - we can't just rush in recklessly, _Luffy_." She eyed her captain, who just gazed back innocently at her.

Usopp was studying the map. "Hey, Nami, what's this area here?" He pointed to a section of the island, south-east of the lake.

"That's a sandy beach." Nami responded, turning back to the map. "Not ideal." She added.

"They'd see us coming from a mile away." Usopp agreed. "What about the north area of the island?"

"A steep cliff-face." Nami replied. "The legend here states that it's sheer. There's nothing above it but incredibly dense forest and, beneath it, nothing but rocks."

"Sharp rocks?" Chopper wanted to know.

Nami nodded. "Most likely."

"Yeah, well, getting dashed against the rocks is _not_ how I want to end this mission." Usopp declared, and Chopper nodded in agreement.

Law was studying the map, also. His grey eyes examined every square inch of the scaled-down representation of the island that they were on, and his mind quickly began calculating possibilities and variables. He then glanced up, and saw Emma staring at him from across the table.

When their eyes met, Law felt it - something akin to a bolt of electricity ran through him.

Emma smiled suddenly. "_Minna_." Somehow, no matter how softly she spoke, everybody always seemed to look at her when she did, and this time was no exception. "Law-San has a plan."

They all turned to look at him, and he smiled, and nodded. "_Hai_. I was calculating all of our resources, namely Emma-San's ability to teleport. However, it's not without its limitations - she has to have _been_ to the area to be able to teleport there, and she generally has to be in sight of it, otherwise. If we can get her close enough to the ship, then she can teleport us onto it." He glanced at Emma again, and she blushed. _Yes,_ Law thought, smirking slightly. _You are our greatest asset_.

Nami was nodding. "Yes..." She said slowly. "But..._how_ do we get Emma close enough to the ship, with the six Marine camps and that big one there set up?" She wanted to know.

Law pointed to the north shore. "Depending on _how_ steep that rock-face is, she might be able to scale it."

Everybody was quiet for a moment.

Ace was the first to break the silence. "What makes you think that she'll be able to do that?"

Emma gave him a Look. "What, you think I _can't_?" She asked, a hint of stubbornness creeping into her voice.

"Have you ever scaled a cliff before?" Ace sounded just as stubborn.

"Once." Emma replied. "In an indoor gym. With...safety ropes."

Ace sat back, and crossed his arms. "Now, picture doing that, outdoors, with pointy rocks in the ocean, and _no_ safety ropes."

"That's it, Ace-Chan, I'm going to do it, and you can't stop me!" Emma snapped.

Ace clenched his fists. "No, you're _not_!"

"Yes, I _am_!" She retorted, her fists also clenched. "I've got my ribbons, I can use them instead of ropes!"

"You're not going alone!" Ace declared.

"I know that, because somebody's got to come with me in case I run into a Marine, or two, or three!" Emma exclaimed.

Ace blinked. "Oh...well then, I'll..."

"I'll go." Law said.

Emma barely refrained from banging her head on the table as Law and Ace glared at each other.

"Oh, for the love of..." Nami glared at them both. "If you're so concerned about her safety, then why don't the _both_ of you just go?!" They glanced at her. She rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms. "Then again, she'd probably be safer with mr anti-map over there."

"Oi!" Zoro snapped.

"The only problem," Emma admitted. "Is how to get _you_ guys to the ship, once we find it. And, how to get the ship out into the open waters." She put her elbows on the table, being careful of her bandages.

"Oh, right." Nami looked depressed.

"I think I might be able to help you with that." Boodle said, approaching them. They all turned to look at him. In his arms was a white dog.

Luffy grinned. "Hey, is that Shoushou?" He wanted to know.

Boodle shook his head. "No. This is Shoushou's girlfriend, Chichi."

"Girlfriend?" Luffy repeated, rubbing the back of his head, before reaching out to the she-dog. "That's weird..."

Chichi snapped at him, and he withdrew his hand.

Nami laughed. "Good girl." She said, patting the dog behind the ears.

Boodle sighed. "Well, Chichi met Shoushou out in the woods, and she knows them better than anybody - she knows all the hidden paths that only animals can get through."

Chopper stood up, looking over at Chichi. "Is that true?" He asked her, and she looked at him. "Do you know a secret path to the lake?"

Chichi nodded, and barked for a moment, before whimpering.

Chopper nodded. "I see." He looked around at the others. "She said that there's one path that goes to the lake, and it's underground, so the Marines won't see us. It exits at a small cave on the cliff-face where the Marine's stronghold is." Chopper's shoulders drooped. "Unfortunately, it's a very small and narrow tunnel - humans can't get through it."

"So, as you can see, there's no hope." Boodle said.

Emma suddenly grinned, albeit somewhat evilly. "Oh, I'm not so sure..." She held up her compass. "I _love_ it when a plan comes together, people..."

Usopp looked at the compass, and then at the map, with all the X's on it. "No thanks." he stated. "I choose _life_."

"Then I _suggest_ you take the secret tunnel." Law stated.

"Are you _threatening_ me?" Usopp wanted to know.

Law smirked. "I don't do threats." He replied.

Usopp glanced at him. "You wanna do this right here, right now?" He asked, and when Law just looked at him, Usopp nodded. "That's what I thought - I would've had to have gotten Zoro to teach you a lesson, if you had."

"Don't drag me into this, long-nose." Zoro muttered, rolling his eyes.

"So, it's decided." Usopp declared. "I'll stay here and wait for you guys to come pick me up!"

Nami whacked him upside the head. "How long do you think you'll last once the Marines find out we're here?!" She scolded him. "No one's staying behind, we're all going together!" She then glanced at Emma, Ace and Law. "Except for you three - you're going to go and climb a wall."

"See, Ace-Chan," Emma noted. "_Nami_ called it a _wall_."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Emiko, was the wall in Berlin _just_ a wall? Was the Great Wall Of China _just_ a wall?"

"How the Hell do you know about those walls?"

"I'm your future husband - I thought I should know more about your world."

"Aww..." Emma leaned over and kissed him. "Next time, stick to Sacsayhuaman."

"To _where_?"

* * *

Emma smiled at Ace and Law, her cute little lopsided grin appealing to both the men, but not fooling them.

"This is great." She said. "This is fine, it's all fine." She turned back around, staring at the cold, dark water that lashed against the sharp, pointy rocks, at the foot of the world's steepest cliff-face. "I'm gonna _die_."

Ace and Law stepped up on either side of her.

"We can always back out." Ace told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, we can't." Emma shook her head.

"Just take it slowly." Law suggested, resisting the urge to add that, if she slipped, then she'd be mutilated by the rocks - if she didn't drown first.

Emma took a deep breath, and exhaled. "Right. Slowly." She took another look at the cliff-face, kneeling down at the edge to take a look.

Law knelt down beside her, and pointed. "See all those notches and grooves?" He asked her, and she nodded. "If they remain consistent, then scaling this wall should be, as you say, fine."

Emma nodded. "_Hai_...my ribbons should be strong enough to steady your weight, but I'm not sure if they can support you, and I mean that in the nicest way possible." She glanced at Law, and then up at Ace. "Don't fall."

"Don't worry." Ace replied.

"Just focus on yourself." Law suggested.

Emma sighed, and closed her eyes briefly, feeling the cool night air against her skin. She opened her eyes, and glanced up at the sky. The moon was still waning - it would be a new moon soon enough and, for some reason, that thought filled her with dread.

* * *

"It's so dark down here." Usopp complained.

"How do you think blind people feel, Usopp?!" Nami snapped, from somewhere up ahead of him. "Just be thankful that we can see _anything_!" She was just a vague outline in the darkness of the underground tunnel.

Usopp couldn't even _see_ Chichi, but he heard it when she said something to Chopper. When they were cats, they could understand a little bit of what other animals said, but not a lot. Just basic things. They relied on Chopper to translate for them.

He said: "Chichi thought that cats were supposed to be able to see in the dark."

"Yeah, well tell Chichi that we're _not_ normal cats." Usopp mumbled.

"She can hear you talking, Usopp." Nami commented, as Chichi's growl could be heard in the darkness of the tunnel. "Dogs have really good hearing." She added.

"Now you tell me." Usopp rolled his eyes.

"Oh, stop complaining, Usopp." Sanji said, from behind the patchy-cat. "Be thankful that you're not scaling that wall with poor Emma-Chan."

"At least it's a clear night." Zoro mused. "Their way will be lit enough for them to see."

"Here's hoping..." Nami muttered.

"Don't worry." Luffy said, from behind Zoro. "Ace won't let anything happen to Emmy."

"Yeah, but what about Ace and Law?" Sanji said. "We all know how capable they are, but..."

"If they're too concerned about Emma's welfare, then they could be in trouble." Zoro said flatly.

"Oh no, don't say that!" Nami wailed. "Now if something bad happens, everybody will blame me for convincing them _both_ to go with her!"

"Hey, wasn't it _you_ that said we should stop worrying about things that we can't change?" Zoro reminded her. "Relax - they'll be fine."

"Yeah..." Nami replied. "Those two would rather die than let anything happen to Emma."

"_That's_ the problem." Sanji muttered, shaking his head.

"Shut up, dartboard-brow!" Zoro snapped.

"Make me, moss-ball!" Sanji snapped back.

"Both of you _shut_ _up_!" Nami yelled, wishing that she could see enough to hit them both.

* * *

_Slowly..._ Emma told herself, her own face mere inches from the rocky face of the wall. _Slow and easy wins the race..._ She carefully reached for the next out-jutting rock, as Law removed his hand from it to allow her to grab it.

Law had volunteered to go first, checking each rock and foot-hold before Emma was there. Ace was right behind Emma, spotting her.

It was a slow and agonizing process, made even more difficult by the fact that, one wrong move, and it would all be over.

"You okay?" Ace asked Emma.

"Sure." Emma replied, trying not to breathe heavily. She was clinging to the side of a wall, scaling it inch by inch, and her arms felt like lead. She had _always_ hated high-school sports, from football to basketball. The gold ribbons woven together, and connected to holes at both ends of the cliff-face, were little comfort, and provided only minimal stability when they stopped to take their small breaks.

They were about halfway across when it happened.

They had just stopped to take another break, and Emma was resting her sweaty and still-bandaged forehead against the rocks. Her right hand was firmly on the golden ribbons. She reached out with her left hand, placing it on the next put-jutting rock, and her fingers brushed against Law's.

She glanced up at him, and locked gazes with Law - just as the rock he was standing on crumbled, and he fell.

Emma's left hand shot out, grabbing the surgeon around the wrist. She immediately felt the horrendous pull of the muscles in her left shoulder, and all down her left side, as Law hung suspended by nothing, clinging to life only by Emma's hand.

"Law-San!" Emma cried, although it was more like a gasp. "Hold on...aaa!" She winced, not because of her aching muscles, but because she'd suddenly felt a weakness in the gold ribbons.

"It won't hold us both." Law said calmly.

"It will!" Emma cried. "It will, Law-San...nng..." She closed her eyes, the pain burning through her left side far worse than Sakazuki's magma ever could have. "Oh my God...think...think..."

"Emma-San...let me..."

"No, Law-San!" Emma yelled, tears pooling in her eyes. "I can't! I won't ever let you go!"

Law's eyes widened slightly, in shock.

"Emiko!" Ace was right there but, like Emma, he was powerless to do anything. He suddenly felt the stone that he was hanging onto begin to crumble. At the _worst_ possible time.

As it seemed to disintegrate beneath his fingers, and he fell, he heard Emma yell: "_Ribon-Ribon No Grab_!"

The red ribbon arced out of the hand that she had wrapped the arm of around the golden ribbons, but now that was all that was holding them in place, as Ace hung from the red ribbon, above the merciless black ocean.

Ace glanced desperately up at Emma, who was sobbing now.

"Emiko, let us go!" Ace called to her.

"Listen to him, Emma-San!" Law added. The hand that was clutching his wrist was slippery with both sweat and blood - some of the wounds on her hand had opened up again.

"No!" Emma cried. "I'll never let go! You two...you two are the only ones! The only ones who love me like this!" She gasped, as the golden ribbons began to tear. "You both...I can't...I won't lose you! Not like this! I need you _both_! Ace-Chan...Law-San...I...I lo-" The golden ribbons were down to the last few threads. "Oh my God, no..." She whispered, as the last of the ribbons snapped.

* * *

"What was that?" Usopp whispered, as the ground around them shook.

Chichi responded, with a series of yips.

"She said it was Yang, the Sea King that lives in the lake." Chopper explained. (Chichi barked softly.) "She says we must be under the lake right now."

"Well that's just great." Usopp muttered. "Now only do we have Marines to deal with, but now a Sea King, too."

"Don't you _ever_ stop complaining, Usopp?" Sanji muttered. "Hey, Chopper, ask her how much longer until we reach the cave."

Chichi snuffled, and Chopper translated: "She says only around five more minutes or so - we should start to see light, soon."

"Good, because I was starting to feel kind of claustrophobic." Nami admitted.

"Do you need me to walk beside you, Nami-Swan?" Sanji called to her.

"No, I do _not_, Sanji!" Nami snapped back.

"Aww..."

"So...why is a Sea King in a lake anyway, Chichi?" Usopp called.

Chichi responded, and Chopper translated. "She says that, once, the lake was actually connected to the ocean via a river. One day, Yang swam into the river and became trapped there when a massive rock-slide blocked the river, mid-way between the sea and the now-lake. She says that the entrances dried up, so Yang couldn't free himself or, at least, that's how the stories go."

"So...it's real, or it's a legend?" Usopp queried. "Which?"

"Oh, it's a real legend alright." Chopper clarified.

"That...doesn't make any sense." Sanji commented.

"It doesn't have to." Nami responded.

"Hey, look!" Chopper cried suddenly. "I can see light up ahead!"

"Me too!" Nami exclaimed and, indeed, things were looking brighter. "We must be near the exit! Isn't that great, you guys?"

"It sure is, Nami-San!" Sanji agreed.

"I'll second that!" Usopp added.

"Me too!" Chopper said.

There was silence after that, as the cats and dog walked along...and then they all stopped.

"Luffy?" Nami called back into the darkness. "Zoro?"

There was no answer and, further analysis revealed that both the small black cat and the big green cat were missing!

"Oh no, Luffy, Zoro!" Chopper yelled, horrified.

"They're back there in that tunnel somewhere!" Nami realised, digging her claws into the rock.

"They must've gotten lost!" Usopp added.

"How does somebody get lost on a _straight_ path?!" Sanji groaned. He turned to the others. "Okay, you guys continue out until you reach the cave, and then wait there." He glanced warily back into the darkness, but there was a determined look in his one visible eye. "I'll go back and get those two."

The others nodded, and watched as the blonde cat disappeared into the blackness, before continuing on their way. As they squinted in the bright light (well, as bright as moonlight could be), Nami thought: _I have a bad feeling about this..._

* * *

In the temporary Marine stronghold, Smoker stood on the balcony, gazing steadily through a pair of binoculars at the Thousand Sunny, perched merrily on the waves of Lake Waikikamukow.

"Come on, Straw Hat..." Smoker mumbled,around his two cigars. "You have to show up _sometime_..." He watched as a huge white, dragon-like Sea King thrashed about in the lake, making waves that rocked the Thousand Sunny but, for the most part, the ship seemed unaffected. "We have your precious ship here, after all..."

"You really think the Straw Hats will fall for your trick, Smoker?" A voice said from behind him, but he didn't have to look to know who it was. He could already picture her standing there, with her silvery-pink hair billowing in the wind, and a cigarette in one hand. "They're not idiots, you know." Hina added, taking a long drag from her cigarette.

"I know." Smoker replied. "They're also not idiot enough to let one of their own get captured." His binoculars focused on the particular light blue cat, that was tied to the deck of the Thousand Sunny. "They'll come here, and when they do..."

"We'll be ready for them." Hina finished for him. Her red lips twisted into a smile. "This should be interesting...Hina look forward to it." _Let's hope that my subordinates know what they're doing, those two bothersome idiots..._

* * *

When Emma awoke, at first all that she saw was a bright light.

She panicked. _Okay, I'm cold, my body is numb, I'm staring into a tunnel of light...we are talking deceased here..._

Then, two faces swam into view. One was tanned, with facial hair and cool grey eyes. The other had freckles, and came complete with warm, brown eyes.

"Emma-San?"

"Emiko?"

"Law-San? Ace-Chan?" Emma opened her eyes up all the way, and sat up in the sand, resting her head on the palm of her hand when her vision swam. She closed her eyes briefly, and then opened them. She looked at Law and Ace, who were both kneeling next to her, looking mildly concerned, and then she looked across, at the water, to where a huge black dragon was watching them. She stared at it, and it stared back at her. "What's that thing?" She wanted to know.

'Hmph, how insolent.' The female voice seemed to come from everywhere but, somehow, Emma knew that it was coming from the dragon. 'After I just saved your life, small human.'

"You...you saved us?" She asked it.

It nodded, its ruby red eyes gazing intently at her and, yet, there was a degree of calmness to them - this creature had been alive for centuries, there was no doubt about that. She was huge, larger than anything that Emma had _ever_ seen before, and resembled a dragon from Chinese folklore. Her scales were black as pitch, her eyes a brilliantly deep red, and a shining blue stone decorated her forehead, like a tiara. She was both beautiful and terrifying, a truly awe-inspiring creature.

"She says her name is Yin." Ace said, as Emma pulled herself into a more comfortable position. "That's...about as far as we got." He turned to Emma. "_Daijoubuka_?"

Emma swallowed, and crew her knees up to her chest. "I really...thought that we were goners...I'm so sorry that I couldn't do more..."

'On the contrary, small human.' Yin said, bowing her head down so that she was eye-level with Emma. 'You all would have died, had I not heard your heartfelt confessions.' She growled, in a soft and gentle way. 'You truly care for these two young men, otherwise I would not have heard you.'

"Oh." Emma blushed, trying to remember what she had said to Law and Ace. Something about needing the both of them, and...yes, she had _almost_ said that she loved them. _Both_ of them. "_That_..."

'There is nothing to be ashamed of.' Yin said wisely. 'It is often difficult for us to voice the emotions that we hold for another, let alone _two_ others. These two men are very lucky to have somebody that feels for them the way you do, small one.' She bowed her head. 'Once, I too, had one that I told my feelings to, and we shared many happy years together.'

"What happened then?" Emma asked her.

'We are separated,' Yin replied sadly. 'By a wall which we cannot demolish.' She looked towards the small river that Emma hadn't noticed up until now. It ran into a thick forest, and appeared to be all but dried up. Emma glanced in the other direction, and saw the sheer cliff-face that had nearly been their downfall. She shuddered, and turned back, as Yin began to speak again. 'This wall separates me from my mate - he is trapped in the lake in the middle of the forest. We used to go there to eat the fish that lived there, but then a landslide separated us for a hundred years.' She growled, in a sad way. 'I would give _anything_ to see him again. I have heard the people of this island call him a monster but, if _you_ were in solitary confinement, wouldn't _you_ act differently, too?'

"Yes." Ace agreed with her, nodding. "I would want to be freed..."

"Yin-Ya," Law said, looking up at her. "Is there some way to calm your mate down?"

'Why do you ask, cool human?' Yin blinked her huge red eyes at him.

"We need to go to that lake." Law shrugged, smiling. "It would be better to not get eaten while we're there..."

'How insolent!' Yin huffed again. 'My mate does not _eat_ people!'

"He didn't mean it like that." Emma said soothingly, putting up her hands.

"Still," Ace said, thoughtfully. "It would be a whole lot easier to get to the Thousand Sunny if we didn't have to worry about your mate being upset with us. Is there a way that could calm him down?"

'There is.' Yin admitted. 'It is an ancient song - more like a chant - that is known only to us Sea Kings, and taught to us at a young age by the ancient gods themselves.' She narrowed her eyes. 'Why should I teach it to you, warm human?'

"Not to me." Ace smiled, and put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "To Small Human, I mean to Emiko." He amended, when she glared at him. "We need to go and get the ship that landed in the middle of the lake, but, while we're _there_..."

Emma smiled up at Yin, and stood up, placing a tentative hand on the Sea King's black nose - the scales felt rough and smooth, textured and yet slippery, all at the same time. "You saved our lives, Yin-Sama - the _least_ we could do is reunite you with your mate."

Yin gazed suspiciously at her, as if searching for lies. She found nothing but warm and open honesty in the human's hazel eyes...eyes that seemed so familiar to her, all of a sudden.

Yin nodded, and growled softly, calmly, under her breath. 'Very well then, small human.' The stone on her forehead began to glow and, as Ace and Law watched, the glow intensified. 'I will teach you the song that can heal my mate's heart. Prepare yourself.'

Emma glanced over her shoulder at Ace and Law, who were both staring at her. "Look, about what happened back there..." She said, her eyes bright. "For now, I need to focus on the task at hand but, I promise you," her eyes suddenly gained that steely look again. "Every single word I said was true."

She turned back around, just as the blue light enveloped her.

* * *

Faith was running fast, as fast as Emma had once thought that the goddess could run. In one hand, she held the heart-shaped necklace, which had once been vibrant - now, its ruby was dulled to an almost black grey, its power almost entirely depleted.

She reached the spot on the dark pinkish-red road, where Grace and Twister were waiting for her.

Grace turned, as Faith approached, and the look in her hazel eyes stopped Faith in an instant.

"You're too late, Faith." Grace said, still as calm and serene as ever, but her voice was filled with pain and anguish - and, above all, with regret. "Little Death has already done it. She has freed Infinity."

Faith's whole entire body went numb, and she dropped the necklace. It fell from her limp hand, and landed with a dull thud on the ground beside her. "No...Little Death not do that...it _can't_ be..."

"I'm afraid it isss, Faith." Twister sighed, watching as the black vortex around the castle in the distance grew. From within that vortex came a sense of great darkness - and, of great power. ""Ssshe didn't know what ssshe wasss doing." He added, in defense of the young goddess' actions.

"Why does it matter if she did or didn't _mean_ to do it?" Karma asked, appearing at a spot near to where Faith was, and holding the young Luck by the hand. "She still _did_ it!"

"Karma, calm down." Chance said, in his monotone, standing nearby.

"No, Chance, Karma's right." Destiny sighed, as she and Fate appeared next to them.

Fate, for once, was _not_ smiling. "This is it." She stated simply.

"What are we going to _do_?" Cupid groaned, his wings drooping sadly at his sides, as he stood next to Chance.

"What _can_ we do?" Luck asked, looking sad. "Infinity will destroy all our worlds - we knew this, as soon as she became."

"We _mustn't_ lose faith." Grace said firmly, looking at the lady herself. "It will take some time for Infinity to gain all the powers of my heart." She went over, and stooped down, picking up the broken necklace. "I will take this to her Father - he is the only one who can restore its full power, now."

"Grace...what about Death?" Karma asked, sighing. "I _really_ didn't want to get her involved...or, Life too, for that matter, but..."

"Don't." Grace shook her head. "Go to Boss, instead - get him to try and find Little Death, and try and talk some sense into her. Meanwhile, all of you, do everything you _can_ to help the Chosen Ones, _without_ going against the rules."

"But...Little Death broke the rules." Luck pointed out.

"Just because _she_ did, doesn't mean that _we_ have to, Luck." Destiny pointed out.

Grace agreed. "That's right. We are gods here. Remember that. I...I may not have been one for as long as all of you," she said, looking around at them all, with her gaze finally coming to rest on Faith. "But, I have faith in the Chosen Ones and, Faith...I thank you, for choosing them as you did."

Faith finally looked up. There was a tiny glimmer of hope in her brilliant blue eyes. "Grace...you really believe...was right choice that I made? Choosing her?"

Grace nodded firmly. "I do, Faith. I think that you made an _excellent_ choice, choosing her."

"But, Grace," Destiny spoke up, sounding unsure for maybe the first time ever. "Are you _sure_ that was wise? I mean, considering who she is and everything...?"

"Destiny, I have the _utmost_ belief that it was the right choice." Grace replied, and then she smiled a lopsided smile. "No matter how biased that may seem, I will _never_ lose faith in that girl."

Fate nodded as well, and then her eyes gained a faraway look. "Something has just shifted...Destiny..."

"I know..." Destiny was looking as well, at something it seemed that only the two of them could see.

The others were used to it, by now, of course, and so they just waited.

Destiny and Fate both shook their heads in unison, and then Fate smiled - it was a very bitter smile. "That future looks grim."

"It's going to happen, one way or the other." Destiny remarked.

Fate nodded. "I know...I'll go and find Father Time. Let him know that...well, it's almost time for him to act." She shrugged.

"That girl's going to die, isn't she?" Grace asked softly, and Fate and Destiny could only nod. Grace sighed. "I see...then, that is indeed, a _very_ grim future..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. I was originally going to write some more of this chapter, but it's 2:55AM over here - I'm tired!**

**. Next week, TAFE starts up again. Back to school, yay...not.**

**. I got a _One_ _Piece_ DVD today! *Celebrates* It's volume eight, with the episodes in Arabasta when Ace shows up! I spent awhile fan-girling this afternoon, lol.**

**. This story now has a cover page! Yes! It's Emma's outfit that she's wearing now, by the way, minus all of her jewelry.**

* * *

**~Emma's sudden indecisiveness with Law and Ace (which, no doubt, you're all going to hound me about) will be explained...soon...~**

* * *

_Dragon of Yin and Yang - I just realised...your username rocks. * _ * Anyways, so, thank you for your review, as well!_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - noooo, not Crocodile, too! (HOW did you manage to con...or, convince him to help you, by the way?). Heh, no double-wedding. Okay, then! Thanks for the review!_

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan - yeah, Garp taught her Soru, at one particular point she managed to master it when they were dodging bullets at the shooting range! XD Rules-schmools, or, maybe he's just hoping that she'll convert to a Marine! Hang in there, Garp-y!_

_MsWildLuck - thank you! ^^ I'm glad that you enjoyed the fight scenes!_

_KaiF . Raphaella - I know, right? Lol, I hate reading them, but I LOVE writing them...like in this chapter! Mwahahahaha! *Cough-cough* Anyways, thanks for the review!_

_Chieko Namikaze - don't you go falling off your chair now, you hear me? ^^ Thanks for reviewing!_

_Cocoa Liddell - ah, but is anything REALLY ever permanent? XD There's more jealousy from Law and soon from Ace to appear, too! Oh...cake is a lie, after all! *Takes back the cake, and hands you a pie* This is from that random window-sill, over there. *Points to screaming house-wife*_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - yes, see the world, but maybe don't do it as a pirate, lol. *Accepts cookie from you* Wow, I didn't think that _anything_ could be more exciting them seeing a Celestial Dragon get pwnd but, well, there you go. XD Thanks!_


	21. Finding Franky (The Superstar!)

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Finding Franky (The Superstar!)

* * *

Somehow, Sanji wasn't surprised when he stumbled upon Zoro and Luffy asleep in the middle of the dark tunnel - actually, he stepped on them, which woke them up.

"OW!" Luffy howled, his voice echoing in the darkness of the tunnel. "Sanji, that _hurt_!"

"Well it's your own fault for falling asleep back here!" Sanji snapped back. "Everyone's already reached the end of the tunnel, and you two were just snoozing away like we don't have places to be!"

"Fine, then let's get moving." Zoro suggested calmly, and they heard him walking away in the darkness.

"Not that way, you idiot!" Sanji groaned. It was going to be a _loooong_ trek back to Nami and the others...

* * *

"Well, there's the landslide." Ace noted, as they walked along the banks of the river (read: muddy trickle).

They stopped and took a look at the massive pile of rocks.

"Right." Emma nodded. "Shouldn't be _too_ hard to destroy this thing...however..."

"We'll wait." Law spoke up. "We need to get to the others and get to the ship. Then, if we calculate the right amount of space and force, we should be able to destroy this rockslide from the ship."

"Mmm." Emma agreed, and they continued walking in silence, with Law counting the number of steps in his head, until the silence was broken by Ace posing an innocent question.

"If you had to have chosen one of us to die back there, who would it have been?"

Emma staggered, tripping over nothing, and catching herself on Ace's arm.

Law, walking behind, just raised an eyebrow, as he continued with his silent counting, and judgement of trajectory.

"Well, that one's obvious." Emma replied calmly. "I would have thrown you both up into the trees and taken the fall myself. Everybody's happy."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Not quite." He took her hand, as they continued walking. "I'm not gonna let you die, Emiko."

"Hmm." She replied, staring straight ahead. She was focusing on a point in the horizon, where she could see the slight glimmer of stars on a lake. "Ace-Chan...these rings..." She said, referring to the promise rings. "They seem to have important memories attached to them..." She furrowed her brow slightly. "I know, because...as strange as it may sound, I can _hear_ certain things, that seem to belong to the one who owned this ring before I did."

"My Mother..." Ace muttered softly, and Law glanced curiously at the Whitebeard pirate.

Emma nodded. "Mmhmm. That's what the other person said, he called her by her name, which was Rouge...I wasn't sure if I was just hearing things but, then again, we all know that gods and spirits exist. I think that they're trying to tell me something."

"Like what?" Ace asked her.

"That's the thing, I'm not sure, exactly..." Emma responded, shaking her head. "I'm pretty sure that the person that she was talking to was..._Oyaji_..." Ace's fingers tightened around Emma's hand. "She said something about not considering him an enemy...I'm guessing that they must have met at some stage...oh! And then, she said that if she and Roger ever had kids, she hoped that they could be friends with..." Emma trailed off, and then glanced at Ace, who was staring straight ahead. Emma squeezed his hand, and he glanced at her. "We should find..._Oyaji's_ daughter. She's probably in hiding, but we won't know unless we try. We'll take it one Blue at a time. We'll find her before they do, the same as we're going to find our Allies, and the Princess."

Ace nodded, smiling slightly. "It's decided then - we'll add it to our To-Do list." He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, just as they came out of the trees, and arrived at the edge of a large lake.

"Wow..." Emma couldn't help saying, staring out at the massive lake, which was at least five times larger than the lake at high school had been (the freezing cold lake that some students had claimed played home to snapping turtles and leeches). It would have looked better with a full moon but, at the time, the moon was a waning gibbous. The stars, at least, twinkled on the lake's surface, like tiny diamonds.

And, in the center of the lake, there was the Thousand Sunny. Emma stared at it, at the ship that belonged to the Straw Hat pirates.

"There's an Ally on the ship." She whispered, just as Ace grabbed her from behind, and yanked her into the trees.

A group of Marines marched by, led by Tashigi.

Emma, Ace and Law stayed crouched in the bushes, waiting for them to pass, and listening to their conversation.

* * *

"Do you see anything?" Usopp asked Nami, who was the only one of them brave enough to venture to the mouth of the cave and peer out.

"I can see the ship." Nami replied, crouching down as she crept to the entrance. "I can also see the Marine camps set up - the main base is right behind us, remember."

Chichi snuffled, and Chopper translated: "She says it's okay, because nobody but the animals can get to this cave."

Chichi growled softly, and Nami sighed. "No need to translate _that_ bit. As soon as we go out there, they attack." She then narrowed her warm brown eyes at something. "Hold on a minute, what's that?" She gasped. "There's something on that ship...it's a cat! A blue one!"

"What?!" Usopp exclaimed, and dared to join Nami at the entrance to the cave. "Hey, it is too! I bet it's Franky!"

"Yes, but...who's that on the ship with him?" Nami narrowed her eyes. "They look like Marines..." She dug her claws into the rocks. "It's a trap!" She realised, with a growing sense of dread. "As soon as Emma teleports onto the ship..."

"She'll be cut down and captured." A voice said, and both Nami and Usopp looked down, to see Tashigi scaling the rocky cliff-side, with a determined expression on her face. "Just like you will be!"

"Eek!" Nami and Usopp both cried.

_How did she find us?!_ Nami wondered, as Tashigi came flying at them.

* * *

At the bottom of the cliff, the three Marines stared up at the cliff.

"Captain Tashigi's an amazing woman, isn't she?" One love-struck Marine murmured.

"She sure is." His friend agreed.

"I know I've never seen anything like her." A third voice stated.

"Why should you care, you're a girl." The first one said, and then paused. "Umm...Mary?" He turned around, expecting to see the brown-haired, slightly geeky Marine, and instead saw a young red-haired woman. "Where's Mary?"

"Off helping someone." Emma replied, as ribbons began to snake from her arms. "I'm filling in."

It was all over in a trice, and Ace and Law dragged the two unconscious Marines over to be tied up with Mary.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Emma apologized to Mary, making sure to drape an extra blanket of ribbons over her after stealing her white shirt and dark blue trousers. The ribbons wouldn't vanish for awhile.

Emma, Ace and Law were about to slip the Marine clothes on over their regular clothes, when they heard a small voice mutter from atop the cliff: "Okay, just stay calm...no need to...panic..."

"Chopper?" Emma guessed, side-stepping out and looking up, to where the little reindeer-cat was perched on the edge of the cliff.

"_They'regoneshetookthemshetookNamiandUsopp_!" Chopper wailed, scrambling down the cliff. "Oh, and Chichi, too...what are we gonna _do_?!"

Emma, Ace and Law exchanged a glance.

* * *

"Okay," Law said, once they were sitting in the cave, and joined by Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. "Here's what we're going to do," Ace glared at him, annoyed that he was the one giving all the orders, and that everyone was going along with it. He had a small map drawn out in the dirt of the cave-floor. "You three," he motioned to Luffy, Ace and Zoro. "Will go and rescue the others."

"Stealth mission, or guns blazing?" Zoro wanted to know.

Law smirked. "Guns blazing." He explained: "The idea is for you three to create a big enough distraction..."

"That way, you and I will be able to teleport with Emma-Chan onto the ship." Sanji nodded. "Good plan."

"Yeah..." Ace said slowly. "Except..."

"Except what?" Law smirked at him, and Ace didn't respond, but his look said it all.

"Look, you two, cool it." Emma said impatiently. "We have work to do - the sun will be coming up, soon."

And, indeed, it _did_ appear to be getting lighter.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "It may be alright for those of us who _aren't_ going to need stealth to get by, but you three might want to use the darkness as your cover."

"Agreed." Emma nodded. "I mean, if Tashigi's here, then that means that Smoker is, too - Zoro and Ace should be a good match for those two, which leaves Luffy free to find the others. Chopper can sniff them out, can't you, Chopper?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Uh-huh. I should be able to get their scents even though they're in animal form - it's their usual ones, mixed in with cat hair."

As he, Zoro, Ace and Luffy headed towards the entrance of the cave, Emma got curious. "Hey, Chopper, by the way...what about us? What are _our_ scents?" She indicated to herself, Law and Ace. "Just as a matter of interest."

Chopper glanced back at her over his shoulder (he was in his Walk Point). "Well, Ace's is typically like fire and ash. Law's is medical disinfectant - I'm used to it. Yours is...material. Like a fabric store."

Emma didn't know whether or not to take that as a compliment, so she merely smiled but, on the inside, she was thinking: _I HATE sewing_!

"It must be the ribbons." Sanji offered, as they sat back down to wait.

"Yeah, must be."

* * *

Nami and Usopp were in cages, and so was Chichi. They had been taken to a room, where they were surprised to find another white dog in a cage.

"_Shoushou_?" Nami guessed, as Chichi whimpered sadly. "I know, Chichi, but we'll get out of this - we always do."

"I wonder if Sanji managed to find Luffy and Zoro yet." Chopper mused, staring up at the very slowly lightening sky through the tiny window up the top of the room. "And, if they've met up with the others yet...I hope they didn't get captured, like we did..." He heard a sudden clunk, and turned to see Nami standing outside of her cage. "How did you do that?" Usopp blinked at her.

Nami went over to Chichi's cage, and expertly picked the lock with her claw. "Hey, I'm a cat thief." The ginger tabby replied, freeing the two dogs before freeing Usopp. "Now, come on, we have to get out of here!" She led the way over to the door.

"Right behind you!" Usopp said.

"Ssh!" Nami hissed, her eyes widening as she heard footsteps approaching. "Somebody's coming - quick, hide!" They all dashed to hide behind the door as it opened, and Hina walked in with Tashigi.

"Well, I just did what I had to do." Tashigi was saying, and then she stopped, as did Hina. "But...where are they?" She asked, seeing the four empty cages.

Hina glanced out of the corner of her eyes, to see four small creatures sneaking out of the door. "Hina see them." She mumbled.

"Yikes - _run_!" Nami yelled, and she and Usopp and the two dogs bolted.

"Don't let them get away!" Hina and Tashigi yelled in unison, just as a massive explosion of fire rocked a part of the base.

Nami, Usopp, Chichi and Shoushou slid to a stop, staring at the huge hole in the wall. They peered down, and saw Ace fighting against Smoker, while Zoro took out a few Marines here and there.

They then turned, to see Luffy and Chopper running down the hallway towards them.

"There they are!" Luffy grinned, and then he noticed Hina and Tashigi. "Hey, it's them again..."

"Don't say it so casually!" Nami scolded him, just as Luffy was hit in the gut by Hina, and an iron bar was wrapped around his torso. Nami narrowed her eyes. "Of course." She muttered, as Luffy struggled. She dug her claws into the tiles, and then, noticing Tashigi, called: "Oi! Zoro, help us!"

Zoro glanced up at her. "Help yourself, Nami!"

Tashigi's eyes widened. "Roronoa Zoro!" She immediately ran up to the hold in the wall and then, noticing Zoro, drew her sword. "I won't let you get away from me again!" She jumped down onto the balcony.

"That was a very good plan, distracting her like that." Hina said, stepping over to Nami, Usopp, Chichi and Shoushou. "But, you forgot about Hina."

"And _Hina_ forgot about _us_!" Chopper had assumed his Heavy Point, and freed Luffy from the bars.

Luffy sprung up, looking ready. "Which is _always_ your big mistake!" He charged at Hina.

Hina smirked. "Hina knows your mistake too, Straw Hat." She took her cigarette out of her mouth.

* * *

"Sounds like the battle's pretty heated up there." Sanji muttered, returning his cigarette to his mouth. He was dressed in Marine clothing.

"Yeah..." Emma agreed, stowing her pink hat in her bra (like an extra pocket!) and adjusting her Marine cap. "I hope they're okay."

"They'll be fine." Law replied. He looked so strange in Marine clothes. "We should get moving, though - if we wait any longer, then there'll be more chances that the Marines will see us when we sneak onboard the ship."

Emma nodded, and stood up. She held out her hands, and Sanji eagerly took her right one, leaving Law to calmly take her left one.

Closing her eyes, Emma concentrated, or at least tried to. _I hope that Ace is okay up there...he's strong, but so's Smoker...they're powers seem to cancel each other out...okay, wait, focus...jeez, why was it so easy to concentrate _before_...? Could it be...that I concentrate better with both Ace and Law around, or is it just Ace...? Okay, hang on..._ She felt Law's fingers tighten around hers, and took a deep breath, focusing on that. _Okay..._ "_Ribon-Ribon No...Transport_!"

* * *

They appeared on the side of the Thousand Sunny facing _away_ from the Marine base, and facing the forest and the village beyond, instead.

Luckily, that was also the side facing to the west, so it would remain the darkest, as the sun began to rise.

They were standing on the little balcony, and heard voices above them.

"Do you think Captain Hina will be okay?"

"Damn it..." Sanji muttered under his breath, as he tossed his cigarette overboard. "It's that hypnotist from Arabasta...Jango..."

"Of course she will - Hina-Sama is the most _amazing_ woman!" The first man replied, and Sanji groaned silently.

"And Fullbody." He shook his head. "How bothersome..."

"Aww, you two can take them." Emma smiled.

"Why thank you, Emma-Chwan, your confidence is inspiring!" Sanji exclaimed softly.

Law rolled his eyes. "And, Emma-San, what do _you_ intend on doing?"

"Finding our Ally." Emma muttered. "Also, I have to wait for Luffy's signal...I hope he remembers what it is..."

"Hey, what was that?" Jango said suddenly, and Emma, Law and Sanji cringed, as they heard footsteps approaching.

"Plan B." Emma said quickly and, without really knowing what she was doing but, remembering something she'd read months ago in a fan fic, she used a gold ribbon to grab onto the railing above her and pull herself up quickly. She jumped up, and found her mark - Fullbody, the ladies man.

She made sure to land on him.

"Oh my God, I'm _so_ sorry!" She exclaimed, clinging onto his neck. "_Please_ forgive me!" _Please let this _work_!_ She was in a very strange position. He had automatically put his arms out when she'd fallen on him, and her left leg was draped over his right arm. The right leg was hooked around his right shoulder. She was seated across his left arm, and her own left arm was around his neck. Because of the height of his arms being held out, her right arm was draped across the top of his Marine cap - unfortunately, that also meant that ehr chest was right up against the left side of his face.

She didn't even have to _look_ at said face to know that it was red - she could feel the heat through the material of the Marine uniform that she was wearing, and was suddenly very thankful for it! She needed it more right now than what Mary did!

Jango, who was staring at them in shock, suddenly gasped. "Wait, Fullbody, don't move - that's Emma, the Demon Of War that the Government's been hunting!" He quickly took out his chakram. "Keep her there, Fullbody! Okay, girlie, on the count of one, two, Jango, you'll fall asleep!"

Emma sighed, and cuddled up to Fullbody. "I _hate_ being victimized." She murmured.

Fullbody's nose started to bleed.

"One..." Jango said, as he started to swing his chakram.

"I mean, I get so _tired_ from running all the time." Emma whispered. "My body just hurts _so_ much..."

"I can fix that..." Fullbody murmured.

"Two..." Jango had his hand on his Marine cap, ready to pull the bill down to avoid hypnotizing himself.

Fullbody, however, was too distracted by the woman in his arms. She pointed at a spot past Jango, to where Law and Sanji now stood. "Look there." She suggested, before averting her gaze.

"Huh?" Fullbody looked, but he didn't get past Jango.

"Jango!" Jango pulled the bill down on his cap, and kept it down, as he heard a very soft thud. "Well, did it work?" He asked.

"Why yes, it did." A muffled, obviously fake-male's voice said, and Jango looked up, to see Emma standing over Fullbody's sleeping body, grinning her lopsided grin. "Just...not the way you were hoping." She added, and then pointed past Jango. "Look there."

"Heh, you think I'll fall for that, girlie?" Jango asked her, just as something hit the back of his neck, and he fell unconscious onto the deck.

"Told you so." Emma shrugged, as Law (who had struck Jango down with the hilt of his _nodachi_) and Sanji stood behind Jango.

Sanji glared at the two forms slumped over on the deck. "Jerks..." He muttered. "I saw the way that idiot Fullbody put his hands all over you, Emma-Chan..."

Emma shrugged again, aware of Law's intense gaze on her. "Well, don't ever let me do that again - it felt weird." She straightened up. "Okay, quick, Sanji-Kun, change into Fullbody's clothes. Law-San, put on Jango's jacket!" Law raised an eyebrow. "_Please_?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Good thinking, Emma-Chwan!" Sanji swooned. "That'll buy us some time!" He quickly took off his shirts.

"Eek" Emma cried, turning around quickly. "Not while I'm _watching_, please!" She glanced up at Law, who was looking at her. She blushed. "I'm gonna go and...uh...find our Ally!" She grabebd the ring of keys from Fullbody's body, and then she bolted.

* * *

She didn't have to look far - she found him tied up on the lawn deck. He was a big light blue cat, somewhat bigger than Zoro, even. His underside was a lighter blue. He was wearing a golden chain around his neck, and a pair of sunglasses. His nose appeared to be made of...metal? He had darker blue ears, and dark blue stars on either of his shoulders.

Emma crept closer to him. "_Franky_?" She asked, in disbelief.

He looked up. "Yeah...do I know you?"

Emma grinned, and shook her head. "No, but I know _of_ you - we're here to rescue you!"

Franky looked thrilled. "Really? _Suuuuper_!"

"Yup." Emma said, as she set about unlocking him. "We'll explain everything later, once we get out of here."

"No can do, Nee-Chan - I can't leave this ship." Franky explained, just as Sanji and Law joined them, looking even _more_ bizarre than they had before.

"_Baka_," Sanji smiled. "Nobody said anything about leaving the ship - we're taking it with us."

"Ah, Curly Cook!" Franky looked happy to see Sanji. "And the one beside you..."

Law just rolled his eyes, and looked at Emma, who had finished unchaining Franky, and was staring at the battle that was _still_ going on at the Marine base.

"Come on, Luffy..." She muttered, the rising sun reflected in her hazel eyes. "Come on..."

"Meanwhile," Franky looked up at Sanji. "How do you intend to get the ship out of this lake?"

"There's a river that leads out to the ocean, but it's blocked by a rock-slide." Law answered for Sanji, pointing in that direction. "It's about eight-hundred meters in that direction, and will require a fair amount of force to destroy."

Franky nodded. "Well, the Thousand Sunny has a number of _super_ abilities!"

"Would the Gaon Cannon work?" Sanji wanted to know.

Franky looked thoughtful, as he used his paw to push his sunglasses up his face. "It _would_..." He said slowly. "Ah, but the amount of cola that it needs...we haven't had any onboard since, well...you know."

"Then, we must get some..." Sanji declared. "There must be a store in town that sells it..."

"Yeah, the only problem is, none of us knows this village all that well," Law pointed out, before glancing over at the fight scene. "And, those that _do_..."

Just then, from the base (which was going up in flames) something came flying towards them - it was a rifle, with a red and gold interwoven ribbon tied around it in a sort-of bow.

As it landed in the water by the bodies of Jango and Fullbody (hopefully, they wouldn't drown), Emma grinned. "Yes! That's the signal!" She reached under her top, pulling out her compass. "Franky, I hope that you're ready to be a human again!" She paused. "Well, a human-cyborg...thing..." She touched a hand to the compass' surface, and the pinkish-red light expanded from it.

As it reached Franky, he was surprised to find himself returning to his proper form.

"Okay, now they're going to know that something's wrong." Sanji said. "They'll probably start firing on us...now."

Bullets flew through the air towards them.

"_Room_." Law said, almost lazily, and the blue sphere expanded, to form a protective dome around the Thousand Sunny.

"Okay, that'll buy us some time." Sanji nodded. He then looked up, and cringed. "Incoming!" He grabbed Emma and pulled her out of the way (not that he really had to), as Luffy came flying through the air towards them, holding Nami and Usopp (as humans) under his arms, and chopper clung to his neck, terrified.

Nami was holding Chichi, and Usopp had Shoushou.

Both of the poor dogs were howling, as they all flew into the Room, and landed in a heap on the grass.

"Ow..." Nami complained, rubbing her back.

"Oh, my dear sweet Nami-Swan, are you okay?!" Sanji exclaimed.

Nami waved him away. "Yes, yes, I'm fine." She stood up, pulling Chopper to his feet, as well.

"Alright!" Luffy cheered. "We're back on the ship! Yay!" He held his arms up, and the Marines fired another round of bullets at them in response. "Yikes...what's _their_ problem?"

"Maybe they're upset because we stormed their base and set fire to the building?!" Usopp snapped.

"Are Ace-Chan and Zoro still fighting?" Emma asked anxiously.

Nami nodded. "_Hai_."

Emma was staring at her, and then her eyes widened. "Nami, that's it - you know your way around Orange Town, right?"

Nami nodded. "Sure...why?"

"Because we need to find a place that sells cola, to use for the Gaon Cannon." Emma explained. "Franky can come with us to carry the cola, and..." She glanced at Chichi and Shoushou. "We can take the dogs back, too. They don't need to be here for this."

Nami nodded in agreement, and picked up Chichi. Emma picked up Shoushou, and the two girls stood close together.

"Franky, come here!" Nami ordered him, and he did so. "Put your hand on Emma's shoulder." She said.

Franky did as he was told, and Emma tried to concentrate.

_Maybe I should have picked up Chichi instead...Shoushou is _heavy_! It's like the time my Nanna had a West Highland Terrier called Josie, and my cousin had one called Gus, and Nee-San picked up Josie and I picked up Gus, and Mum said that she thought that it would've been the other way around..._

"Emma!" Nami snapped. "Sometime _before_ we all sink!"

"Oh, right, sorry..." Emma apologized, and closed her eyes. "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_!"

* * *

Sumi sat on the deck of the Moby Dick, staring at the newspaper in her hands.

"What's up, Sumi, yoi?" Marco asked, as he and Vista came to sit beside her - they were both worried about their little sister.

"This." Sumi showed them the newspaper. "It says here that the Princess of Arabasta has gone missing."

Marco took the newspaper out of Sumi's hands. "So she has...Princess Nefertari Vivi and her Spot-Billed Duck Carue..."

Vista was smoothing out his mustache. "I remember hearing Ace and Luffy mention something about her...they're acquaintances, I do believe."

Sumi nodded. "_That's_ what I'm worried about. So far, every Ally has been a member of Luffy's crew, and I'm _positive_ that the next three are, as well. Or, at least, that's what the gods hinted at. Vivi traveled around with Luffy for quite awhile..."

"Do you think she could be the final Ally?" Marco suggested.

Sumi shrugged. "It's a possibility..."

"She could even be the Princess." Vista suggested, and Sumi looked startled.

"What? Whatever gives you _that_ idea?" The blonde shook her head. "No..." She stared out at the sunrise. "The gods have a plan for this, I'm sure..."

* * *

When Emma, Franky and Nami arrived in Orange Town, they bid farewell to Chichi and Shoushou, and then Nami led them straight to the bar. As Franky was in there, getting the cola, the ground began to shake.

"What was _that_?!" Nami exclaimed, grabbing onto the side of a building to stop herself from falling.

A few villagers, up and about at this ungodly hour, overheard her. "That must be Yang, the Sea King of the lake." One of them said. "he's in a bad mood again, no doubt!"

"Oh dear..." Emma muttered, as Franky came out, carrying two barrels of cola on each shoulder, and some villagers rolled three more barrels out.

The mayor was with them. "Now, I'm afraid I can't just let you take these for free, even if it _is_ you." Boodle said, apologetically.

Emma looked at him. "How about this?" The ground shook again, and a distant roar could be heard. "You give us those barrels for free, and I'll fix that problem you've got with the Sea King."

Boodle looked shocked. "And, how do you intend to do _that_?" He asked her.

"Because." Emma replied firmly. "I made a promise to somebody else that I would, and I intend to keep it."

"Well..." Boodle hesitated.

"Great!" Emma grabbed onto the three loose barrels with her ribbons, before grabbing Nami's hand and putting a hand on Franky's stomach (he was so _tall_!). "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_!"

* * *

When they got back to Lake Waikikamukow, they discovered that it had been turned into a mini-sea. Huge waves rocked the ship, and everybody was either rushing around preparing the ship for what was coming, or trying not to fall over.

"We got the barrels!" Nami shouted, noticing that Ace and Zoro had also joined them.

"Quick!" Usopp yelled. "Get them to the Energy Room!"

"But what about _that_ thing?!" Chopper cried, terrified, as a huge Sea King loomed above them.

"Oh my God..." Nami whispered, staring up in horror at the Sea King.

Emma also stared up at him.

He was slightly bigger than Yin had been, and his scales were a stunning white, as white as the tiles in a cheesy bathroom-cleaner commercial. His eyes were as blue as the deep oceans, and a shining red stone decorated his forehead.

Luffy had come up beside Emma and Nami. "He sounds like he's in a lot of pain." The straw hat captain remarked, holding onto said hat as another wave rocked the boat. "I think he wants us to help him escape."

"I think he wants to _eat_ us!" Chopper exclaimed.

Emma was staring at Yang, as he thrashed about, and she wondered what it would be like to be separated from your love for so long. Yin was right - you _would_ act like a monster.

Emma made her decision. "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_!" She cried, and appeared standing on the yard-arm, facing the Sea King. "Yang!" She shouted to him. "Yang, calm down!"

He roared, either not hearing her or not listening to her - either way, he was still thrashing about.

"**Yang**!" Emma called to him, and this time he looked at her, but he was still thrashing.

Down below, those that sensed it wondered at Emma's sudden use of Haki, which had gotten the monster's attention but hadn't been _nearly_ strong enough to do anything else. It was certainly not going to be her main weapon.

Emma steadied herself against the mast, before looking at the Sea King. There was so much pain and fear in his eyes that it scared her. The Marines were still firing at them, and some of the bullets had hit Yang - she saw a few flecks of blood dotting his scales, and it sickened her.

She willed herself to stare into those angry blue eyes, and swallowed, before opening her mouth, and starting to sing, hoping that he could hear her over the noise around them.

"_No one, could ever see,_

_The best of me,_"

There was no fancy flashes of light or anything but, somehow, all sound around them seemed to stop, as all eyes were suddenly glued on the tiny figure on the yard arm, singing to the Sea King.

"_Somehow, all I can ever show,_

_Are the things no one wants to know..._

_Please take, my hand,_"

As she sang this part, Emma walked forwards, and held out her hand to the Sea King. He glanced suspiciously at her, before moving slightly closer to her.

"_Tell me that you understand,_

_I need a new start,_

_I need you to heal my heart..._"

Emma's hand made contact with the scales of the Sea King, which felt to her the same as Yin's had.

There was still a fair amount of pain in the Sea King's eyes, but the anger was gone, to be replaced with trust.

Emma nearly sighed in relief. Yin had been right - the song had healed Yang.

But...about that song...

Emma sensed a pair of eyes on her, and glanced down at Law. He was staring up at her, a strange look on his face that she couldn't quite read (well, he _was_ very far away from her).

"It's okay, Yang-Sama..." Emma said quietly, turning back to the Sea King, as the waters around them began to still. "We'll get you out of here...back to your mate..."

'Thank you, small human.' Yang had a deep, gravelly voice, and he growled softly, the same was Yin had. 'You have truly been blessed by the gods, to want to help a monster like me.' He leaned closer to her, so that the red light from his jewel shone on her. 'I sense a greater potential in you than you have realised - there is more to you than meets the eye, young one.'

"Huh?" Emma blinked, just as a cannonball hit the water near to where they were, making the ship rock, and she had to grab onto Yang's snout to stop herself from falling.

Yang growled, and nudged her to go back. 'I will hold off the human law enforcers, small human. Can your friends destroy the wall that keeps me from my mate?'

Emma nodded. "They can. Please, hold off the Marines for as long as you can, Yang-Sama." She clung to the yardarm, not trusting herself to stand up again. She'd suddenly realised just how high up she was, and one wrong move could send her flying into the water, where she would surely drown.

Yang blinked at her. 'Of course.' He moved back, and she watched as he sent a wave towards the Marines with a flick of his tail, before heading off in that direction.

Emma clung to the yardarm, not wanting to move. She wasn't sure how okay she'd be up there, when the cannon was fired, but maybe if she held on...

"_Emma, get down here_!" Nami yelled to her. "_You can't stay up there_!"

"_I-I can't, Nami_!" Emma yelled back. "_I'll fall_!"

"_You'll definitely fall if you stay up there_!" Nami shouted.

Chopper suddenly scrambled up onto deck. "We're getting ready to fire the cannon!" He cried.

"_Emma_!" Nami screamed.

"It's okay!" Ace suddenly appeared on the yardarm, and grabbed Emma, dragging her over to mast as the ship was suddenly filled with a strange kind of energy. "Emiko, ribbons, quick!" He told her.

"Ah! _H-hai_!" She wrapped her arms as far as they would go around the mast, and extended some red ribbons to wrap all the way around it a few times. Ace then pressed his chest against her back, and gripped onto the wood, just as the ship was rocked again but, this time, it was due to the two cannons being fired simultaneously - one from the front and one from the back.

The one at the back was merely to stabilize the ship, but the one from the front, where the ship's lion figurehead was, unleashed a massive beam of energy, which cut through the trees and caused a huge explosion.

"_Yes_!" They heard Usopp yell. "Bullseye!"

"Okay, so now what?!" Sanji called.

"Hey!" Luffy called, running over to the side of the ship, where Yang was. "Mr. Sea King! We promise not to eat you if you help us get out of here!"

"LUFFY!" Nami screamed.

'Hmph. How insolent.' Yang huffed. 'Very well, lanky human, I will help you.' He began to create waves with his tail, that pushed the ship towards the small river, which became wider as the waves created more space between the trees. Yang swam right behind them, fueling the waves with sideward sweeps of his tail.

"_Cool_!" Luffy shouted, as they sailed past trees, on the white-water rapids.

"_Suuuper_!" Franky agreed. "The Thousand Sunny is heading for the _seeeaaa_!"

Chopper suddenly shrieked. "Oh no, there's a fallen tree!" He cried, pointing straight ahead. "We're gonna crash!" He added, covering his eyes.

'Not likely.' Yang suddenly swam under the the ship and, using the forward momentum of his serpentine body and fueled by the waves that were still pushing from behind him, he created a wave just under him as he reached the tree, and flew into the air, with the Thousand Sunny on his back.

Most people on-board either screamed or gasped, grabbing onto something - or, somebody - to stop themselves from falling over.

Ace and Emma, still on the yardarm, had a perfect view as they sailed through the air, and towards the ocean. They clung onto each other and the mast, as water droplets flew past them, and the bright blue sea glittered out before them.

"_Awesome_..." Luffy breathed, holding onto his hat to avoid losing it.

They heard a splash, as Yang landed in the ocean, but they continued flying, and they looked down, to see his white body entwine with a black serpentine body.

Yin looked up at Emma, her crimson eyes sparkling. 'Thank you, Emma.' She said, using the human's name which, for her, was a very rare occurrence. 'And, do _not_ forget what I told you about love - there is no shame in loving more than one.'

Emma blushed, but raised her hand in a silent farewell, thinking: _that's easy enough for _her_ to say, isn't it..._

Ace looked thoughtful, as he rested his face against the side of Emma's neck and, below them, the crew prepared for the landing - and, the escape. The Marines were coming!

* * *

Of course, they managed to escape, and blew up a few Marine ships as well, thanks to Ace and his powers.

Emma and Ace then climbed down onto the deck, for the former to be enveloped in a hug by Nami.

"Don't you _ever do that to me again! _Next time I tell you to come down, you'll get down here on the _double_!" Nami scolded her. She then drew back. "And, by the way, what are you _wearing_?" She glanced over at Law, and then at Sanji.

The two men immediately began shedding their layers.

"Eek!" Emma cried again, turning away. "What did I tell you before?!" To Nami, she added: "They were disguises. But, it's no wonder they're having trouble recruiting people - this material is so _stiff_ and _scratchy_..." She also began shedding her layers, and put on her hat.

Luffy was grinning. "_Shishishi_! We got Franky back, _and_ we got the Thousand Sunny back! This is great, you guys!" He said, as Zoro rolled out a barrel of beer from the kitchens, Usopp began handing around tankards that they began to fill up with beer.

"Yeah, we can _so_ do this!" Chopper grinned, standing on the beer barrel (because he was so short) and raising his full tankard.

_A fifteen year old reindeer is...drinking..._ Emma thought in amazement, as she accepted her tankard from Usopp. She smiled, and then shrugged. _Oh well._ She raised her tankard, as well.

"To us, you guys!" Luffy grinned, raising his tankard, and the others followed suit.

"To us!" They all cheered, even Law, because he was starting to feel more comfortable around this crew, even with their over-exaggerated ways. They weren't so bad...not like his _own_ crew, of course (which he had told to tag along, and scout the area for any dangers that might go unseen by the Thousand Sunny) - they were, he admitted, _his_ nakama, as much as most of these misfits were to Luffy.

Of course, there was _one_ person here that he wouldn't _mind_ joining his crew...he glanced over at Emma, as she watched with wide eyes at the sight of Ace skulling his entire tankard of beer.

Emma then glanced across at Law and, when she saw him looking at her, she came over and sat beside him.

They were sitting side-by-side on the same deck as the main mast. Ace, Nami and Usopp were with them - Usopp was talking about putting a garden in there, amongst all of Nami's tangerine trees, and she seemed to like the idea.

"It's a bit crazy, isn't it?" Emma asked, smiling at Law.

"I should think you'd be used to it by now." He remarked, smiling at her.

She nodded, and then yawned, covering her mouth with one hand, as she set down her only half-drank tankard.

"Sleepy?" Law guessed.

"Yeah...we didn't sleep at _all_ last night, and...it's too early in the morning to be drinking." She replied, settling herself into a more relaxing position.

"Tell _them_ that." Law nodded his head towards Usopp, who was daring Ace to skull another tankard, and Nami was complaining, saying that it was _her_ tankard, not his!

"Mmhmm..." Emma murmured, resting his head against Law's shoulder. "Hey, guys...the sun's not even over the yardarm yet..."

"They didn't hear you." Law smiled.

"Oh well..." Emma let her eyelids flutter, and then close. "We're safe now..."

"Hmm..." Law said, glancing at her. She _definitely_ looked like a black-winged angel now, as she slept peacefully against his shoulder. She was going to be the death of him one day, he was sure of it.

* * *

A figure watched through binoculars, as Law picked up Emma, and then asked Nami where the women's quarters were. Nami stood up and swayed slightly, but led Law, still carrying Emma bridal-style, down below deck.

Only then, did the person watching them lower his binoculars, and lick his lips greedily. "Well, well, well...looks like I've found a new birdie to play with...and, taking her away from Law will be an even _bigger_ treat..._fufufufu_..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. So...umm, yeah. There are no author's notes. ^^;**

* * *

_MsWildLuck - I was actually thinking about that (well, only about Kidd, actually, lol). And, thanks for distracting Boa with whatever strange Luffy-item you've found. *Bows*_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - then I shall be the best writer of Australia! Absitivily-posalutely! Don't worry, they thought they were going to die, too. ^^ Ooh, a cookie-truck? Excellent..._

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - yes, things are getting very strange now, aren't they? You'll have to read to find out, of course! XD_

_Cocoa Liddell - you'll just have to wait and see! God, I'm evil, aren't I? ^^ But, not evil enough to ignore you, my devoted readers! *Throws confetti your way*_

_KaiF . Raphaella - thanks for the review! :D_

_WindWhistle21 - I never said that! Who said that?! *Glares at Akainu* IT WAS _**_YOU_**_! *Gets toasted* Anyways, there was s light friendship seen in this chapter between Law and Sanji, so I hope you liked it. :)_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - Brook's panty collection and...Crocodile? Do I even want to know? Yes, I know that people often worry about Mary-Sues but, no need to fear, I have a plan! I ALWAYS have a plan! This one involves pie! Actually, no it doesn't, but it does involve...well, that would spoil it. I'm intrugued by your methods of killing Mary-Sues, though. Care to enlighten me? *Shoves a Mary-Sue at you* Be careful, her eyes change colour. XD_


	22. Tequila Flamingo

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**~Parental-Warning~:**

**This Chapter Contains:**

**. Mild Sexual References**

**. Low-Level Violence**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Tequila Flamingo

* * *

"You've been staring at that thing for ages." Nami said. "It's not edible, you know." She added, and Emma jumped.

"Oh, I know that." She said, sighing as the Baby Den-Den Mushi went back to sleep. "I just don't know why Sumi-Chan hasn't called yet...I'm starting to get worried."

"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Nami replied, with a smile. "She's with the Whitebeard Pirates, after all."

"Yeah." Emma agreed. "I guess so..." She was lying on one of the beds in the women's quarters. Usopp was busy in his workshop, building another bed but, for now, Emma was using Robin's bed.

She had been given a tour of the ship, from Zoro's training room in the crow's nest to the soldier dock where the special vehicles were housed. The layout of the ship was fairly straightforward, and easier to navigate than the Moby Dick, since it wasn't as big. Still, it was impressive. The grassy area on the deck, with its swing and side, were impressive additions.

Still...Emma found herself kind of missing the Moby Dick, with all its people onboard...then again, she'd only been onboard the Thousand Sunny for five days - she just needed to give it a bit of time, she decided...

"Emma," Nami came to stand over her. "I need your help with something."

"Sure," Emma replied immediately, sitting up. "What is it?"

"The bathroom needs to be cleaned..." Nami began, and Emma flinched.

"Oh...umm..." Emma looked sideways. "I just remembered...I promised...somebody that I'd...do something...for them..."

"No excuses!" Nami snapped, grabbing her by the back of her top.

"No, really, it's true!" Emma protested.

"I don't wanna hear it!"

* * *

"It sure is peaceful here." Ace commented, leaning with his back against the main mast.

"Sure is." Luffy grinned. "Why don't you join us?"

"Oh, why not."

"Really?" Luffy asked hopefully.

"No." Ace gave him a Look.

"Aww, Ace, you're _mean_!" Luffy pouted.

"We've been through this before, little brother." Ace replied, rolling his eyes, just as there was the sounds of protesting.

"Noo!" Emma cried, flailing her arms as Nami dragged her (literally) across the deck. "I don't wanna go!"

"You're going to pull your weight around here or else!" Nami threatened.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Grab_!" Emma cried, wrapping her red ribbons around the mast.

"Don't you _dare_!" Nami cried, tugging even harder. "What's the big deal with a little bit of swabbing, anyway?!"

"I _hate_ housework!" Emma replied. "I didn't come on this voyage to _work_!"

"We're not running a pleasure cruise, Emma!" Nami snapped back. She produced a pair of scissors from nowhere and used them to cut the ribbons. "Now _come_ on!" She began pushing and pulling again, finally succeeding in getting Emma through the door.

"Noooo!"

Ace and Luffy watched all this with wide eyes, and then turned back to each other when the door slammed.

"What was that you were saying about peaceful?" Luffy questioned.

"Did I say that?" Ace grinned, and pulled his hat down over his eyes. "She'd probably do better in the Whitebeard Pirates, Luffy. There's more people to pitch in and do the work, after all."

"Forget it." Luffy said firmly, crossing his arms. "She's joining my crew."

"Why don't you let her decide that?" Ace suggested, still smiling.

"Sure." Luffy shrugged, looking up at the blue sky. "Hey, Ace?" He said, after awhile. "What do you reckon Sabo thought about, just before he died?"

Ace looked startled. "What...what brought _that_ on, all of a sudden?!"

Luffy shrugged. "Dunno. Guess I've just been thinking a lot lately."

"Yeah, well, don't hurt yourself." Ace told him, fiddling with the ring on his finger, and remembering what Emma had said about hearing voices. Was it _really_ possible to hear the voices of the dead, through memories from a certain object?

Ace wasn't sure but, he had a sneaking suspicion, it was all connected somehow...

* * *

"You missed a spot." Nami said briskly.

"Okay, where?" Emma asked testily, resisting the urge to throw down her sponge.

Nami pointed. "There."

"Then why don't _you_ clean it?" Emma wanted to know, putting her hands on her hips. There were soap suds everywhere, and they'd been cleaning for _hours_. Emma didn't understand why Nami was so concerned over one _tiny_ speck.

"I already did _my_ section of the bathroom!" Nami replied angrily, also putting her hands on her hips. "You need to pull your weight around here! Ask anyone, and they'll tell you!"

"What?! Well who do you wanna ask, _the speck_?!" Emma brandished her sponge angrily at it. Unfortunately, her aim was off, and the soap suds splashed all over Nami instead.

Nami's face turned red, and she immediately picked up a bucket of water, throwing it all over Emma, who shrieked, and leapt at Nami angrily, aiming the sponge - and a kick - at the orange-haired girl.

There was a light knock on the door, which neither of the two girls heard, and the door opened. Sanji poked his head in. "Nami-San, Emma-Chan, I was just wondering if you..." He stopped, and trailed off, seeing the two girls wrestling amidst the soap suds. He just stared at them, blushing, until they finally took notice of him.

"Sanji!" Nami exclaimed, more surprised than embarrassed to be found in such a strange situation.

Emma took the opportunity to mutter her favourite phrase, which resulted in Nami being tied up in ribbons, and unable to stop Emma as she stalked wordlessly past Sanji.

Sanji watched her go, and then glanced back at Nami. His eyes lit up.

"Don't you _dare_!" She snapped. "Hurry up and get these ribbons off of me, Sanji! There's a pair of scissors in my skirt pocket!"

"Of course, Nami-Swan!"

* * *

"Hey, Zoro, where did Ace-Chan go?" Emma asked him, approaching him on deck.

"He went down in the submarine with Luffy, Usopp, Franky, Chopper and Law." Zoro explained, giving her a Look. "To survey something that's going on down there, _and_ to get some peace and quiet."

Emma sighed. "Hey, it's not _my_ fault that Nami's such a slave-driver..."

"I _heard_ that!" Nami snapped, from where she stood above the grass deck, with her hand on her hip. In the other hand, she held a laundry basket. Emma cringed. "What happened to doing the laundry like I told you?!"

"What are you, my Mother?!" Emma cried in disbelief, as Nami slid down the slide whilst standing up, and brandished the washing basket at Emma. "I was going to do it later!"

"That's always the way with you, isn't it?!" Nami scolded her. "You're such a 'gunner' - be proactive, and do it _now_!"

"I was planning on doing something _else_ right now, Nami!" Emma protested, backing away.

Nami began chasing her with the washing basket. "No, you'll do _this_ now!"

"Get that thing away from me!" Emma shouted.

"Do you want _Sanji_ to wash all your clothes for you?"

"That's blackmail!"

"That's life!"

As the chasing continued, Sanji joined Zoro on the deck.

"As cute as they are when they're angry, shouldn't we be stopping them or something?" The cook asked the swordsman, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"You wanna get in the way of that?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head. "Trust me, it's better to just leave them."

"Since when are _you_ such an expert on girls?" Sanji wanted to know.

Zoro glared at him. "I'm not. I just happened to have lived with Nami for a bit longer than you have, so I know what she's thinking right now."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Well, she's back on her home-turf now, so to speak." Zoro explained, dodging as a pair of jeans came flying at him. "So, it's natural that she'd be expecting our newest traveling companion to pitch in, especially since Nami's used to being the dominant female of the group."

Sanji nodded slowly. "Makes sense. What about Emma-Chan?"

Zoro glanced at Emma, who was currently being cornered by a furious Nami. "Well, for one thing, Nami shouldn't be cornering her like that."

"How come?" Sanji wanted to know, just as a beam of greenish-coloured light emitted from the compass around Emma's neck, which extended to Nami and changed her into a cat.

"That's why." Zoro said flatly, as Nami climbed out of the pile of clothes, looking positively _murderous_ - the fur on her back was standing straight up, and she began hissing.

Sanji cringed. "Oh, my poor sweet Nami-Swan, but...you look so _cute_ as a little kitty!" He exclaimed.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Whatever." _I lived with Emma, as well, and I know she's not the easiest person to live with - she _hates_ any kind of housework, and she only cooked because she had to..._

Just then, Nami leapt at Emma, who dodged - and Nami went flying over the edge of the ship.

"NAMI!"

"NAMI-SWAN!"

"Hold on Nami, I've got you!" Emma cried.

"Ow, ow, _ow_!" Nami complained, as it was her tail that Emma had grabbed her by.

"Oh, what, would you rather I let go?!" Emma asked her, as her compass swung down, and hit the side of her hand.

A reddish-pink hologram appeared, showing a dark-coloured cat, with its paws and neck all in cuffs. It was in a very flamboyant room, and appeared to be very weak, with its head on its paws, but it looked up, with startlingly clear eyes, and carefully cleaned its paws with its tongue.

"That...that's Robin!" Nami gasped. "I'm sure of it!"

"How?" Emma asked, as Zoro and Sanji came up to give her a hand.

"Because she's a whole lot tidier than you are." Nami said bluntly.

"Damn it, Nami!" Emma snapped, just as two things happened. One, she leaned over too far, and her necklace slipped off of her neck. This panic caused her to let go of Nami, and both the compass and the cat fell into the ocean. Emma's hand brushed the compass just before all of this happened, and Nami became a human once more, but it probably wasn't going to save her. "Aaa!" Emma cried, as Zoro and Sanji dragged her back.

"Stay here and keep an eye out!" Zoro said, before he and Sanji dived into the ocean to rescue Nami and the compass.

_They'd better not forget my compass._ Emma thought, leaning over the side of the ship, and putting her hands behind her as she rested her chin on the edge. "I wish the others would hurry up and get back...Nami's so annoying..." She muttered, and stretched, or at least she tried to. Her arms suddenly wouldn't move by themselves, and neither would the rest of her body. "What the Hell...?"

"Fufufufu...now then..." Emma heard the unfamiliar voice from behind her, and then something cold was snapped onto both of her wrists. Immediately, she felt herself grow tired and weary, but she wasn't sure why. Then it hit her - Sea-Stone.

"Why...?" She slowly felt herself turn around, even though she hadn't asked herself to do so. It felt so strange, to be unable to control her movements - who or what was doing this?

She got her answer as soon as she saw him - he was hard to miss. He was _huge_ - maybe around ten feet tall - and had blonde hair and sunglasses and...the flashiest pink-feathered coat in the world.

There was no doubt about it.

"Doflamingo..." Emma realised, unable to pronounce his other name since she'd never heard it before. _I didn't get this far in the manga, but I know what this guy's about! I'm in serious trouble now!_

Doflamingo smiled. "So, you even know my name. I'm impressed...Demon Of War."

She narrowed her eyes. "Hey, I know your n-name, so the least you can do is l-learn mine." _Damn it, there's that stammer again!_

Doflamingo's smile widened. "Scared of me, precious?" He made her walk a few more steps towards him.

She stared up at him. Damn it, why were men in this world so Goddam _tall_?! Emma was only about half his height!

"No." She lied. _I'm scared of what he might _do_ to me! Hurry up, Zoro, Sanji-Kun, get back up here and save me! How long can you guys hold your breaths for, anyway?!_

Knowing them, it was probably forever.

Doflamingo wouldn't stop smiling, as he made her walk with him across the deck with him.

"What happened to you, anyway, little birdie?" He asked her, referring to the bandages that she was still wearing - most of them had come off, but she still had a few on, where the more serious of her burns were.

"I got into a fight with a volcano."

"Oh?" Doflamingo sounded amused. "Which one?"

"Akainu." She mumbled, and he laughed.

Emma's heart was hammering, as she saw the ship that she hadn't noticed before. _Zoro! Sanji-Kun! Hurry!_ She thought, as she got closer and closer to the edge of the ship. When they stopped at the edge of the ship, she quickly slipped the ring off her finger.

Doflamingo turned to her when he heard the slight chink on the deck. "What was that?" He asked her.

"What was what?" She asked innocently, and his eyes went to her wrists (or, at least she _assumed_ that they did, since she couldn't see them past the red lenses of his sunglasses).

"Oh, that's right, I _almost_ forgot." He reached out, and unclipped the Baby Den-Den Mushi from her wrist.

Her eyes widened. "Don't kill it!" She cried. "I'll g-go with you, just don't kill it! Please!"

Doflamingo smirked, and let the Baby Den-Den Mushi fall from his hand. It hit the deck and stayed there, and Emma honestly couldn't tell if it was dead or alive, as Doflamingo grabbed her, none too gently, and she was taken away from the Thousand Sunny.

_This is not good!_

* * *

"Wow..." Luffy was saying, with his face pressed to the glass of the submarine.

"Luffy, you've been down here before," Usopp reminded him. "How can you be...oh wow, is that an elephant fish?!" He hurried to press his face to the glass next to Luffy, as a _massive_ fish with a trunk and tusks swum lazily by.

They watched it go, and then it turned and swam frantically the way it had come.

"Oh, of course, a school of teeny rat fish." Usopp nodded, as a bunch of small grey fish swam by, forming the shape of a much larger fish with their bodies.

Luffy pointed at something, laughing. "Hey, lookit, that fish looks just like Nami!"

Usopp looked. "Where? All I see is a spotted hippo fish...oh, you mean over _there_..." He narrowed his eyes. "Holy God, that _is_ Nami!" He cried.

"What?!" Chopper had joined them at the window. "Oh no, it _is_ her! Oh, wait, there's Sanji and Zoro!" They watched as Sanji swum up to Nami and tried to grab onto her, but she glared at him and pushed him away, opting to swim for the surface herself instead.

Sanji just shrugged at Zoro, who continued on downwards, towards something gold glittering on a tall rock that, thankfully, was there.

"They sure picked a weird place for a swim." Luffy commented.

"Uh, I dunno Luffy, I think that something might be wrong up there." Usopp replied. "Why don't you try calling them?" He suggested. "I don't think these guys are ready to go back yet..." He nodded his head over to Law and Ace, who were staring at the navigation controls, and arguing.

Luffy nodded, and the three of them went over to the Den-Den Mushi, and dialed the number for Emma's Baby Den-Den Mushi.

* * *

Up on the Thousand Sunny, Nami gasped for breath, as she and Sanji lay side-by-side on the deck.

"D-damn her, and her...laziness..." Nami muttered, sitting up as she heard a ringing sound. "Oh, look, she even left her Baby Den-Den Mushi lying around - what's she gonna do when she and Ace have kids?" And, ignoring Sanji's stunned look, Nami went over to the Baby Den-Den Mushi but, as she picked it up, she noticed the scratches on it, and then something gold caught her eye. She picked up Emma's promise ring, holding it up to eye-level, a sinking feeling in her chest, as she answered the call.

"Emmy?" Luffy's voice said.

"Uh, no, Luffy, it's me." Nami replied, frowning into the distance, and then she heard something else. "Hmm?" She peered down over the side of the ship, to see a much smaller boat alongside it. "Isn't that...?"

"What's wrong, Nami?" Luffy's voice asked over the line.

"Oh, nothing." Nami sighed. "It's just Johnny and Yosaku..."

"Hey, Nami-Aneki!" The two bounty-hunters called at the same time. "We were so worried about you guys!"

"Really?" She asked. "Why's that?"

"Well," Johnny said, as he and Yosaku jumped up onto the Thousand Sunny. "We just saw the ship belonging to a big-shot Grand Line pirate in these waters, and a red-haired girl wearing clothes like yours, so we thought..." He trailed off, when he saw the looks on the faces of Nami and Sanji, who had joined them.

Nami tightened her fist around the promise ring. "Luffy," she said in a tense voice. "Get up here _now_."

* * *

The Heart Pirates joined them up on the Thousand Sunny, as Johnny and Yosaku relayed what they knew.

Nami handed Ace the ring. "She's definitely in trouble - she wouldn't have left this behind otherwise." She told the Whitebeard pirate, whose face was grim as he absorbed the news.

"Well," Luffy said, crossing his arms. "We'll just have to go and get her back! Which direction did they take her?"

"You can't do that, Luffy-Anegi!" Yosaku told him, his eyes wide. "I mean, you guys are strong, sure, but you can't _seriously_ want to go up against Donquixote Doflamingo!"

"_What_?!" Law stood up quickly, staring in unmasked horror at Yosoku. "You're saying _Doflamingo_ has her?!"

"Hmm?" Luffy glanced at him. "Somebody you know, Law?"

Law's eyes darkened, and he clenched his fists. "You could say that..." He muttered, and his crew exchanged glanced. "He's one of the Shichibukai," (There was a collective shudder). "And you could say that he hates me." He shrugged.

"So, basically, what you're saying is that this is all your fault?" Ace said quietly, and everybody froze, glancing between Ace and Law.

Law glared at Ace. "You're going to blame this on me, Fire-Fist?"

Ace nodded, and crossed his arms. "Yeah, I guess I am, Trafalgar."

Nami quickly got between them. "Stop it, you two!" She said firmly, putting her hands up on either side of her. "You can argue about whose fault it is later but, right now, rescuing Emma is our top priority!"

Zoro gave her a strange look. "Weren't you arguing with her only a half hour ago?"

"Yeah, since when are _you_ so eager to go on a suicide mission to rescue Emma?" Usopp asked her. "You've never done that before."

"Yes I have!"

"Huh?" A few people looked up, and recalled Nami venturing alone onto Nezumi's ship, in order to find their missing friend.

Luffy nodded thoughtfully. "Oh yeah..."

Nami was blushing, but she scowled, and said: "Okay, so let's think." She looked around at Johnny and Yosaku. "Where could he have taken her?"

The two bounty hunters exchanged a glance, and then said: "Well, it's possible that he took her to _that_ place..."

"What place?" Ace asked, warily.

"To..." Yosoku gulped. "_Tequila Wolf_."

"Tequila Wolf?" The Straw Hat pirates repeated. "Where's that?"

"You mean you don't know?" Johnny shook his head. "Oh boy..." He straightened up. "Well, it's basically the base of a massive project that was started to join up all the islands in the East Blue, by means of a bridge."

"A bridge...?" Nami repeated. "But...who could be..." She trailed off, as everybody avoided everybody's gaze. She didn't need to ask - the answer was suddenly blaringly obvious.

Chopper looked worried. "We _need_ to get Emma back..." He declared.

"Umm, Nami-San..." Sanji spoke up. "What about Robin-Chan?"

Nami closed her eyes briefly, and then opened them again, looking over at Luffy.

The captain drew in a breath. "Okay. Here's the thing. Neither is more or less important than the other but, right now, Emmy's the one in danger...that we _know_ of. So, we rescue her first, _then_ we can focus on finding Robin."

"Luffy..." Chopper's eyes sparkled. "That sounded...intelligent!"

"Huh?" Luffy blinked. "It was?"

A few people face-palmed.

* * *

The black cat sighed, and shifted slightly, wincing as the Sea-Stone cuffs clanked against each other. How long had she been here? A week? Two weeks? How long had it been since she'd heard the singing...?

For a shining moment, when she'd felt herself vanishing, she'd thought that, just maybe, she was going to a better place (whatever _that_ meant).

But, the next thing she'd known, a crazy guy with a strange name had been standing over her, his pink coat nearly blinding her as she'd tried to escape.

Of course, he had Devil Fruit powers and, once he'd found out that _she_ had them, the Sea-Stone cuffs had come out, and she'd been captured.

Now, she was Doflamingo's prisoner, and the days were turning into weeks or, possibly months.

Looking up at the sunlight seeping in through the window, she was glad to have escaped the bitter cold of mainland Tequila Wolf. Something seemed different today...she wasn't quite sure what it was but, she could tell - something was coming.

Smiling for the first time in...a long time, Nico Robin settled down to wait.

* * *

When Emma came to, it was to a dark-haired lady shaking her shoulder.

"Time to wake up." The lady said.

"Nng..." Emma managed to sit up, struggling a bit with her Sea-Stone cuffs, and then she looked down at herself. "Hmm? _Whaaaaa_-?!" She fairly shrieked, causing the woman standing over her to flinch, and then glare at her.

"Calm down!" The lady said, annoyed.

Emma eyed her. "Well, at least it's not as bad as yours is." She noted, looking at the skimpy maid outfit, which showed off a lot of cleavage and even more leg. Somehow, looking at _that_ made her feel a little less bad about her own outfit, but she had to pose the question: "Who changed m-me?"

The woman gave her an odd look. "I did." She snapped her fingers. "Now, come on. The young master wishes to see you. _Now_." She narrowed her eyes. "Come on, he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

_Does she mean that Doflamingo guy?_ Emma wondered, wishing that she could use her powers to escape. "No thanks." She told the woman. "I choose life." She quoted Usopp.

She suddenly found a blade pressed up against her neck - the woman had turned her entire hand into a dagger! "Then I _suggest_ you come with me, kid!" She snapped.

"Wait, you're...Baby Five?" Emma guessed, and the woman looked confused.

"How did you..._wait_..." Baby Five nodded. "Yes, the young master mentioned that you knew a lot about us...no wonder he had his eye on you although, looking at you, you aren't much." She raised an eyebrow behind her goggles.

Emma bristled. "Oh, shut up." She mumbled, getting off of the bed and following Baby Five to the door of the room. _Bitch._ She added silently. On the way out, she caught sight of herself in a full-length mirror. "Whaaa..." She complained, blushing. She was wearing a sugar pink maid outfit, that came complete with a pleated skirt that was a little too short for her liking. There was a black apron over the skirt, and black ribbons tied at the front, kind of like a corset.

"And what's _your_ problem?" Baby Five asked her. She then looked slightly concerned. "You look uncomfortable...how come?"

"Because this outfit has hateful ribbons and painful constraints - too tight!"

"That's _not_ an answer." Baby Five began prodding Emma in the back. "Go on, get, move it!"

"Okay, okay!"

"Move it, go!"

"Owch, alright!"

* * *

It was only when Baby Five had left her alone in the (pink) room with Doflamingo, did reality set in on Emma.

She was alone, restrained, wearing a weird outfit, and with a really weird guy.

Anything could happen..._anything_...

Emma's heart began to pound, and she felt faint. Her breathing came out in quick, sharp successions, and she would have staggered back - if she'd had the control over her body to do so.

Doflamingo seemed to take great pleasure in her discomfort, and moved closer to her which, of course, only made her feel worse, and him feel better.

Yes, he was a sadist, that much was for certain. He seemed to take pleasure in other people's pain, and she couldn't even _begin_ to imagine what was going to happen to her.

The unknowing was killing her, so she dared to ask: "Wh-what?" After all, didn't sadists love to talk about what they were going to do to you?

"Fufufu...you will find out soon enough, little birdie..." He forced her to turn around, so that she was facing the wall.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no!_ She panicked, as she felt his hands on her shoulders, removing the top part of her dress. _Oh God, no...the one thing I fear...above anything..._ She felt a tear slide down her face, as her bra was unhooked. _I should have had sex with Ace-Chan back in the shed..._ She realised, with grim humor. _Oh, Ace-Chan...Law-San...minna...please, come and save me...please..._ She thought.

"Now, little Demon Of War..." Doflamingo said. His lips brushed against the side of her neck. "To make you _mine_..."

_What is he...? No...no, it can't be! NO!_

* * *

They had been traveling for two days.

"There..." Nami was staring at the compass in her hands, which had pointed a tiny pinprick of light into the distance, and had now led them to a small island. Near to this island, was a half-constructed bridge. Not wanting to attract any attention, they had moored further away, and were preparing to take the submarine to the island.

Nami placed her hands on the side of the ship, staring at the island.

_I can sense it..._ She thought, a cold wind blowing her hair. _This is the place where we need to be..._

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy called to her. She turned to him. "You coming or what?"

Nami nodded. "Hn." She walked over to the group that was going, and counted five others - Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Law and Ace would all be going as well, to rescue Emma. Bepo, Shachi and Penguin were going to go along in the submarine, to help pilot it.

As the cold ocean closed in around them, Luffy asked Law: "So, what _is_ this Doflamingo guy like?"

Law was facing away from him, so he didn't see the darkness that crossed the surgeon's eyes. "Do you really need to know?"

"It might help us when we go up against him." Sanji pointed out.

"It'll also help us be better prepared for anything he might've done to Emma." Zoro added, and a few people cringed.

Law was one of them, but he checked himself, and shook his head. "He's sadistic." He replied, in a low voice. "He enjoys tormenting his victims, before killing them."

Ace swore, and clenched his fists. "Any idea as to _why_ he would've kidnaped Emiko?"

Law was staring down at the floor of the sub. "Just one...he hates me, after I betrayed him."

Everybody stared at him in shock, except for the three members of his crew who were present. They just exchanged a glance.

"Okay, we get it." Zoro nodded. "She gets close to you, he kidnaps her to get revenge on you. Sounds legit."

Law didn't respond.

"So, basically, he could do _anything_ to her." Nami said, her fingers tightening around the compass. Everybody glanced at her. _Why does this always happen? I argue with somebody, and then..._

"Hey, Nami?" Luffy stepped forwards. "Don't worry - we'll get her back." She glanced at him - he had a determined look on his face, similar to the one that she'd seen so many times. "I promise."

* * *

Robin watched the entire process in silent shock and horror, wishing that she could do something to help this poor girl, but knowing that she couldn't. It was horrific for her to watch this torture, though, because she knew the pain and fear of being weakened by Sea-Stone cuffs and at the (lack of) mercy of a psychotic freak.

The red-haired girl, who Robin discovered was named Emma, started off trying to contain her pain but, about halfway through, she couldn't stop the screams that escaped her throat.

This only seemed to fuel Doflamingo's sadistic joy, as he held her at bay with his Devil Fruit powers, leaving his hands free to do what they were doing.

He talked to her as he worked, between her screams. "I've had my eye on you for awhile, little birdie. Even before the Wanted posters...the Government's getting tired chasing you all over the place..."

"Then...why don't you...just hand me over to them?" Emma asked, through gritted teeth.

"Aww, but that's no fun," Doflamingo replied. "I was thinking of renouncing my title, anyway." He stabbed the needle into a sensitive part of her back, and she bit back a scream.

"Why...why are you doing this...to me?" She asked, as sweat ran down her forehead and arms.

"You should have figured that out by now," Doflamingo told her. "Aren't you supposed to be _all_ knowing? I've been following you for days, since you left Orange Town." He stabbed her again, and this time she let out a yell. "You seem to be having fun with the Straw Hat Pirates," (Robin's stunning blue eyes widened). "But, I sense something _special_ between you and little Law...fufufu...how fun it will be to see his reaction to this..."

"Shut up..." Emma muttered, crying out softly in pain, and Robin saw blood trickle down her back. "You don't...you don't know _any_ of this..." She screamed again, and Robin heard her sob. Emotion filled her own eyes. "They made this mistake before...CP9 made this mistake..." Robin froze. "Underestimating the Straw Hats...I may not be...as important to them...to Nami...as Robin-San, but..." She screamed again, as more blood trickled from the marks on her back. "_But I know they'll come for me, and they'll win_!"

It seemed then that Doflamingo had finished with what he was doing, and he made Emma turned around. He leaned down close to her, and whispered: "I wouldn't count on it. I know Law better than you think, little birdie." He then kissed her roughly on the lips, and Robin nearly looked away, knowing that this possibly caused the young red-haired woman even more pain than the tattoo had.

So, she was surprised when Doflamingo suddenly jumped back with a gasp, and Robin saw flecks of blood drip to the ground.

Emma was glaring up at him. "Keep your tongue _out_ of my mouth, jerk!" She told him. Then, she must've known what was coming, because she closed her eyes and flinched.

Robin couldn't tear her eyes away as Doflamingo struck Emma across the face, sending her to the floor, where she landed on her stomach and didn't move.

Doflamingo wiped the blood away from his chin, and glared down at her. "I'll tame you, little birdie, don't you worry about that." He then turned and marched out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

When she was sure he was gone, Robin stood up and, dragging herself over to Emma, as far as the chains that bound her to pegs on the floor would allow, she whispered: "Emma-San?"

Emma looked up, her face wet with sweat and tears, but her eyes lit up briefly as she said: "Oh, so it...is you...Robin-San...you heard all that?" She said the last bit flatly, and then closed her eyes and returned her forehead to the floor.

"It's quite alright." Robin replied, laying down. She reached out a paw, and the Sea-Stone cuff clinked on the ground.

Emma glanced up again, and reached across, so that her fingertips touched the edges of Robin's paw. "They'll come for us, right? I mean...Luffy...and the others..."

Robin gazed calmly at her, purring softly. "_Hai_. I have faith in them."

"Faith..." Emma whispered, closing her eyes, as waves of tiredness washed over her. "I see..." _No wonder Nami really gets along with Robin-San - Robin-San is so cool!_

* * *

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Nami whispered, as they stood on a small sandbank looking at the small island.

"Why are we whispering?" Luffy whispered back.

"How should I know?!" Nami snapped back.

The island wasn't actually an island at all; more like a massive rock that just happened to be jutting out of the sea near Tequila Wolf, which was visible in the distance through the thick cloud cover.

Nami raised a hand, feeling the direction that the wind was blowing. "Guys, be careful..." They all glanced at her. "It's about to start snowing."

They all nodded, trusting her, as they waded in the knee-deep water through the cold salt water.

"The island's surrounded by trees." Zoro began.

"Those aren't trees, those are weeds, _wishing_ that they were trees!" Luffy told him.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Okay, _fine_, the island's surrounded by _weeds_. At any rate, they won't provide us with much cover."

"Another distraction?" Luffy guessed.

Zoro put a hand on the hilt of one of his swords. "Seems like the way to go."

"Hold it." Law said, and they all turned to him. "Whatever you do, do _not_ underestimate the Donquixote Pirates, _especially_ not Doflamingo himself - leave him to me."

"And why should we?" Ace asked, in a low voice.

Law glanced up at him. "Doflamingo's Devil Fruit allows him to control a person's body, and have them do _anything_."

The others stared at him.

Ace wasn't fazed. "I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"Yeah, right." Law said sarcastically. "You couldn't even defeat one of your old shipmates..."

Luffy gasped, and grabbed Ace, who had just made a move to attack Law.

Nami sighed, in frustration. "See, _this_ is why we need to get a move on! You two are _way_ worse when Emma's not here, so it doesn't matter _who_ defeats this flamingo guy, as long as _somebody_ does it!"

"Yeah, you tell them, Nami-San!" Sanji cheered.

Nami gave him a Look. "Don't get too comfortable, Sanji - _you're_ going to help Luffy and Zoro."

"By doing what, Nami-Swan my dear? What is it that you want me to be?" Sanji asked her happily.

"Live bait."

* * *

"So, that's the story?" Robin rested her head on her paws, smiling softly. "How interesting..."

"Mmhmm..." Emma nodded as best she could. "We have to find two more Allies, and one of them's a Princess." She added.

"Hmm." Robin said thoughtfully. "I recall hearing talk that Princess Nefertari Vivi has gone missing as of late..."

"_You mean Arabasta's Princess_?!" Emma exclaimed, before ducking her head, and lowering her voice. "Princess Vivi?" Robin nodded. "Wow...oh, I hope it's her!" She exclaimed softly, her eyes shining.

Robin smiled at the change in her mood, but then her smile faded, and she tensed, as she heard a commotion coming from outside.

"What was that?" Emma whispered, just as they heard somebody yell, from somewhere outside.

"GOMU-GOMU NO..." Emma and Robin exchanged a startled glance. "PISTOL!"

"They actually came for us..." Emma gasped.

"You sound surprised." Robin commented.

"I guess I just expected it to take awhile longer." Emma admitted. "I hope they know what they're doing..."

* * *

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING!" Luffy screamed, as he crashed through a wall.

_That's obvious._ Zoro thought dryly, just as he came across an obstacle in the form of a man with light hair and strange war-apint on his face.

Zoro, with his swords, immediately got into his fighting stance. "You're brave, attacking me head-on, I'll give you that." The swordsman stated.

"Oh, no I'm not, really, I'm not." The man replied.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."

The man bowed his head. "Well, thank you for the compliment. I _am_ brave, and one of the top fighters of the Donquixote Pirates."

"Fine." Zoro said. _Why do I always get the weird ones?_ "Then let's see what you can do."

* * *

Luffy, meanwhile, ran through the halls of the building, looking for either Emma or that flamingo guy. He stopped suddenly, when he reached the bottom of a staircase, and found it covered with some sort of slime.

"Eww, what _is_ this?!" He asked, reaching out to touch it. It suddenly expanded, and enveloped him. "What the Hell?!"

The liquid soon morphed, into the shape of a man. He was bedraggled,with bowl-cut dark hair and a long, thick beard. Luffy wasn't sure why, but something about this guy reminded him of a giant snail.

As he struggled, the man cackled. "Behehehehe...you'll never leave this house of horrors, weakling..."

He transformed his arms into liquid, which began to smother Luffy's face. He felt the liquid slide into his mouth and eyes, which was both disgusting and a little bit creepy, all at the same time.

Just as he was starting to black out, something struck the liquid man from the side, with enough force to make him let go of Luffy, who dropped to the floor and immediately scrambled out of liquid's way.

"Thanks, Sanji!"

"Don't mention it." Sanji eyed the creepy liquid man with distaste. "So, what's this guy's deal?"

"Allow me to demonstrate..." The man instantly turned his arms to liquid, as he attacked.

* * *

Ace, Law and Nami, meanwhile, bypassed all of this, heading for the second floor of the pink building.

"This way!" Nami cried, using the compass as a guide. It indicated the direction they should take, via that tiny pinprick of light. Suddenly, however, she sensed some KI, and Ace grabbed her out of the way just in time, as a bullet sailed through the exact spot where her eyes had been.

A dark-haired woman in a skimpy maid outfit stood there, blocking their way. Baby Five. "You're not going to get any further!" She told them, transforming her hand into a flint-locked blunderbuss.

"She has a Devil Fruit power!" Nami gasped, as Baby Five lunged at her, and Nami managed to dodge out of the way, diving forwards and rolling.

"Better leave it to us, Nami." Ace told her. "Hurry and get to Emik-" He was cut off by Baby Five's attack. "FIRE FIST!" He shouted, cutting off the attack with a wave of flames, which gave Law and Nami the opportunity to get past Baby Five, and continue further into the tower.

Ace dodged out of the way, and continued with this, searching for the assassin's weak point. He soon found it - as he continued to get away from her, unscathed, she became increasingly frustrated, and then her eyes filled with tears, which spilled over and began to fill up her goggles.

"Look, could you just let me get past already?" Ace asked her, impatiently.

She took them off, and buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ace blanched. "Umm...okay..." It could still be a trap - he proceeded with the utmost caution. He just...couldn't ignore a crying woman. What a hero! "Hey, lady..." He was then nearly thrown off-balance all of a sudden, by the wailing woman. "Whoa! Hey, take it easy!"

"I'm sorry, I'm soooo sorry!" She cried. "It's just...I...I..." She couldn't seem to be able to say it. She turned her hand into a dagger, and pushed Ace away from her, holding the blade to her stomach. "I'll kill myself, because I can't let you pass, but...you asked me to...to...I'll commit Seppuku!"

Ace's eyes widened in alarm. _Holy God, she's worse than that pink-haired guy from Enies Lobby, the one that I read about!_ He grabbed her wrists. "Now, just hold on a minute!" The ring suddenly slipped out of his pocket and, unthinkingly, Ace stooped down and picked it up, before looking up at Baby Five.

Her face was a look of utter surprise, and she was blushing.

_Oh, damn it._ Ace realised his mistake too late, just as a door on the side of the hallway opened, and a large man with proportionally-thin limbs stepped out.

"Really, Baby Five?" Buffalo asked, closing the door behind him, which he really didn't have to, since they were about to start battling again. "You know what happened to the _last_ eight of your fiances, nnniiinn..."

Baby Five let out a choked sob, but nodded, and then transformed herself using her Buki-Morphose.

She now resembled a giant gun on legs.

Ace just stared at this insane duo, and shook his head, sliding the ring onto his pinkie finger for safe-keeping. The last thing he needed was to accidentally propose to this insane girl again!

"Alright. You two asked for it."

* * *

Law and Nami took the stairs three at a time, heading for the top floor. Something was _pulling_ them both in that direction, and it wasn't just the compass. They reached a very elaborate corridor and, noticing the huge pair of double-doors at the end of the hall, they ran up to them and, after exchanging a glance, they pulled the doors open, and stepped inside.

BANG!

Nami screamed, as pain tore through her right shoulder, and she fell to the pink carpet, which quickly became stained with her red blood.

"Nami-Ya!" Law gasped, through gritted teeth, and went to help her...but, he discovered that he was no longer in control of his body, and soon discovered the reason.

"Fufufufu, how very entertaining." Doflamingo was sitting carelessly on a throne-like chair. He had his elbow rested on the chair's arm, and the side of his face rested on his knuckles. "I didn't know you'd started to care so much about people, Law."

Law glared at him, but didn't have a chance to respond because, just then, in unison, two women's voices called: "_Nami_!"

Law glanced sideways with his eyes, and saw Emma crouched on the floor near to Doflamingo. She had a chain collar around her neck, and there was blood on her arms and chest.

The other speaker appeared to be a black cat with the most amazing blue eyes that Law had ever seen, and he quickly assessed that she must be Luffy's archeologist, Nico Robin.

Nami tried to raise her head, but the bullet had lodged itself firmly into her right clavicle, which was not only painful, it was dangerous - she was losing a lot of blood. She spoke, through pale lips. "Robin...Emma...you're...okay..." She grimaced, and clutched at the carpet, as Doflamingo got up, and walked over to her.

It wasn't clear which was louder - Nami's cry of pain, or the shouts from her friends, as Doflamingo roughly kicked her. She hit the wall near to where Emma and Robin were, but neither of them was able to help her, as they were both chained up.

Law didn't have to be the medical genius that he was to know that Nami was in a lot of trouble right now, as he switched his gaze back to glare at Doflamingo, who was smirking down at him.

"This is one of the great things about being a pirate, isn't it?" The blonde-haired man said cheerfully. "You can do whatever you want, and get away with it."

"Let them go, Doflamingo!" Law said.

"You're in no position to be making demands, Law." Doflamingo replied. "Like I said, I'm free to do whatever I want right now. Like this..." He made Emma get up, and walk towards him, dragging her chain with her.

The look on her face was unreadable - she kept her head down, as Doflamingo made her turn around.

"Go ahead, I'll let you look." Doflamingo said, as he reached over and began to remove Emma's dress, finally tearing it due to the Sea-Stone cuffs that were on her hands out in front of her.

Law's eyes widened. "What are you...?!" He began, angrily, but he stopped abruptly, as the final folds of dress fell away, leaving Emma in her black underwear, and the mark of the Donquixote pirates glaring in black ink on her back, mingled with the red. His heart pounded in his chest, and he couldn't take his eyes off of the horrific sight.

Anger silently boiled in his blood, and he suddenly began envisioning horrific and macabre things happening to his former mentor.

Just then, Doflamingo made Emma turn around, and Law saw the tears in her eyes. "Law-San..." She whispered. "I'm so sorry...I'm so weak..."

"Fufufu..." Doflamingo patted her roughly on the head, but she kept eye-contact with Law. "I heard you got some tutelage from Black-Legged Sanji of the Straw Hat Pirates...times to put that to the test, my little birdie..."

Law suddenly found himself in control of his body again just as he found a pair of Sea-Stone cuffs slapped on him and, just then, Doflamingo made Emma attack him.

* * *

Usopp sighed, and stared at the tiny island. "Do you think they're okay?" He asked, as another explosion rocked the pink building on that island.

"Oh, man..." Franky sobbed. "We should have gone _with_ them!" He suddenly looked up, with a determined expression. "That's it! We can't just stay here! We have to go and help them!"

"No, Franky!" Chopper cried. "Luffy told us that, under _no_ circumstances, were we to follow them!"

"Yeah, you don't wanna mess with the Donquixote Pirates!" Johnny added.

"But..." Franky began, and then he looked past Johnny, seeing a ship approaching through the slight flurry of snow.

It was quite large and, as it got closer, they could see that its figurehead was a dragon.

"I've never seen that ship before," Usopp mused, as it came closer to them. "Is it a pirate ship? It's just flying ordinary red flags."

"It's also aiming a cannon at the island." Law's navigator added.

Everybody froze, and then they began screaming and waving their arms about, to get the other ship's attention...

* * *

"Well, that was weird." Zoro remarked, staring at the mess that had been made of his foe, and the sticky foe of Sanji and Luffy's.

"I'll say." Sanji agreed with Zoro, for once.

Luffy nodded. "Okay, now..."

"AAAUUURRRGGGHHH!" A scream suddenly pierced the air, and all three of them froze.

"That was Emma-Chan!" Sanji realised.

"Let's go!" Zoro said, and the three of them began running towards the staircase, but then they jumped out of the way, as a massive man came rolling down the stairs. He hit the wall opposite with a sickening thud.

A lady appeared at the top of the stairs, looking devastated. "_Buffalo_!" She cried, before she was struck from behind by Ace. He caught her gently and set her down, so that she wouldn't fall down the stairs, before indicating that they should keep on heading upwards.

"How could he hit a lady like that?" Sanji mumbled, as they climbed the stairs, and side-stepped Baby Five's body.

"So much for them being all-powerful." Zoro remarked, as they ran down the hallway.

"I dunno..." Sanji muttered. "I feel like we're all fighting a bit differently lately..."

"Maybe something to do with this whole Allies thing?" Luffy guessed. "Maybe Emmy talked to the gods for us, or something?"

"No, Luffy, I'm sure that's not it." Zoro rolled his eyes.

"HOLD IT!" A voice suddenly yelled from behind them, and they all turned to see Baby Five standing there.

"Evidently, he didn't hit her hard enough." Zoro sighed.

"YOU CAN'T GO UP THERE!" Baby Five yelled, and turned various parts of her body into bombs as she flew at them.

All four of the men shouted something unrepeatable (well, Luffy might've yelled something different) as the world exploded around them.

* * *

Law only just managed to dodge, as Emma aimed a roundhouse kick straight at his neck - another split-second, and she would've killed him.

Doflamingo was clearly enjoying himself, as he made Emma attack Law, and Law was unable to do much because it was her, and because of his Sea-Stone cuffs. Every time Law got close to Doflamingo, he would just make Emma appear there almost from nowhere, and Law would have to cease with his attack instantly.

Nearby, Robin was unable to do much as Nami bled out, her skin ghostly pale and her breathing ragged. She was in a lot of pain, and unable to do anything about it.

Nami looked up, and her brown eyes met Robin's blue ones. Robin watched as Nami gritted her teeth and then, slowly, inch-by-inch, she began to crawl her way towards the black cat. It was an effort for her, as the strange fight raged on in the background, and Doflamingo was completely distracted by the pain he was causing to Emma and Law, that he didn't see when Nami reached Robin, and uncurled her left hand.

In it, was the key she had stolen from Baby Five when she'd dodged from her attack. It was a one-size-fits-all key.

Robin bit back her gasp as, with great difficulty, Nami fit the key into the Sea-Stone cuffs, and slowly turned it. The Sea-Stone cuffs clinked away, and Robin immediately felt her strength return to her but, just then, Doflamingo spoke.

"Now," he said, and Nami and Robin froze, before Nami inched forwards to cover up the fact that Robin was free. Doflamingo's attention, however, was on Emma and Law. Both of them were panting from the exhaustion of trying _not_ to kill each other, and Emma looked like one of the girls from _Ikkitousen Xtreme Xecutor_. "For the final act...fufufu...I didn't forget about about what you did to me, little birdie...I don't appreciate being bitten like that..."

Emma bit her lip, and then looked up at him. "Please...Doflamingo..." He looked at her. "You can...do..._anything__, _whatever_ you want but, first, _please, _please_ let Law-San treat Nami's wound, _please_." She tried to keep the tears out of her eyes. "After that...anything you want...you can have it..."

"Emma-San, _no_..." Law began, but Doflamingo cut him off.

"Fufufu...isn't that sweet?" He said, mockingly. "I'm getting cavities..." He waved his hand. "Fine then. Law, attend to your precious little friend. And then...we shall have some fun..."

Law suddenly found himself in control of his body again and, after a quick look at Emma, he hurried over to Nami and Robin, not noticing at first that Robin's Sea-Stone cuffs were off, until he saw the key.

"But, how...?" He breathed, barely making a sound, as he carefully turned Nami over, onto her back, and examined her shoulder.

"Never...mind..." Nami whispered, holding out the key to him. She managed to unlock his Sea-Stone cuffs, without Doflamingo noticing. "Robin...the compass..."

Robin nodded carefully, and discreetly activated her Devil Fruit powers but, just then, Doflamingo spoke again.

"I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do, Law." The pink-feathered man said. "I'm going to take control of _your_ body, and make you beat your precious little Emma to within an _inch_ of her life." Emma and Law both froze, and then paled slightly, as Doflamingo continued with: "Then, I am going to _take_ her, and make you watch as I..."_  
_

As he spoke, Emma, who was standing slightly behind Doflamingo, suddenly felt something on her shoulder, and glanced sideways out of the corner of her eyes, to see a black paw somehow jutting out of her shoulder, and it was holding her compass. Emma swallowed, as several other black paws appeared from her wrists and, despite lacking opposable thumbs, Robin managed to unlock the Sea-Stone cuffs, which clattered to the floor, making Doflamingo turn his head sharply and stop mid-sentance, thank God.

"Doflamingo," Emma said, as the pinkish-red light emitted from her compass. "Here's the thing...I'll bite _any_ part of you that's in my mouth, so don't even _try_ it!"

"_Clutch_!" Robin said sharply.

As her powers worked to drag Doflamingo to the ground, Emma looked over at her Nico Robin was a tanned woman, with silky shoulder-length black hair and stunning blue eyes. She was tall, and beautiful and, right now, she was causing Doflamingo a world of pain.

As Emma ran to Nami and Law, an explosion rocked the building.

"We need to go!" Law stated, picking up Nami easily - now that her job was done, she was close to fainting.

Emma nodded, and grabbed onto him and Nami. "Robin-San!" Robin reached back, and grabbed Emma's shoulder. "_Ribon-Ribon No Transport_, and make it snappy!"

As they vanished, Emma caught sight of Doflamingo, though writhing in pain on the floor, who managed to glare up at her, with furious eyes.

* * *

As they appeared outside, to see the building exploding around them, they caught sight of a huge ship that was firing on the island.

"Who _is_ that?!" Emma cried.

"The Revolutionary Army." Law said, and Robin nodded.

"_Hai_ - I recognize their ship's figurehead." The archeologist stated, just as Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Ace came running up to them.

"OH NO, NAMI-SAN!" Sanji yelled, seeing Nami's limp and bloodied body in Law's arms.

"Who _did_ this?" Luffy asked angrily. "I'll make him pay!"

"I advise against that, Luffy-San." Robin said calmly, though there was a slight note of urgency in her voice. "We must evacuate and seek medical help for Nami."

"Robin-Chwan!" Sanji cried in delight, and then wailed: "Oh, my poor Nami-Swan!"

"Less gushing, more rushing!" Zoro snapped suddenly, and they all began running towards the shore, where the yellow submarine was barely visible through the white snow that had began to fall.

As Emma waded through the water, with Ace's hand clenched around her wrist, and he pulled her up onto the deck of the submarine, she half-turned, and caught a flake of snow in her hand. It was the first time she had ever seen it - it was beautiful, and a fitting end to her terrifying encounter with one of the Shichibukai. She then glanced up, and met the stern gaze of a man standing on the Revolutionary ship.

They were dark eyes, and they were so familiar...why...?

Then, Emma realised, that they were the eyes of both Luffy and Garp so then, this must be...

"Dragon..." She whispered, wondering if he was supposed to be here or not. Then again, they were supposed to come here to liberate Tequila Wolf, and they wanted Robin to join them but, wasn't Robin supposed to have gone to _him_, and not the other way around?

Robin hurried up behind Emma, wincing at the sight of her back, and took her by the shoulders. "Emma-San, I know it's not everyday you get to see snow, but we have to close the door!"

Emma nodded and, giving one last glance at Dragon, who was looking at either her or Robin, she allowed Robin to lead her below deck, to where Ace was waiting to throw his arms around her, as the sub dived.

Emma allowed his to hug her, but looked around. "Where's Nami?" She asked, urgently.

"Law took her in to be operated on." Zoro said tensely. He was leaning against the wall. "Sanji and Luffy are in there with her, but Law might end up kicking them out if they keep on yelling the way they are."

"They're just worried." Robin said calmly.

Zoro nodded. "I know...hey...you okay?" He asked her, and she nodded, smiling lightly.

Ace was hugging Emma, when she suddenly gasped and pushed him away, wincing in pain as she sunk to her knees.

"Emiko...?" Ace took a look at her back, and stopped. "What is...?"

"Doflamingo tattooed his mark onto me!" Emma exclaimed, the trauma finally catching up to her. "I have _his_ mark on my back, his horrible, _evil_ mark! I don't want it! Get it off! Please, _please_ get it off of me!"

"He can't do that, it's permanent." Zoro said, a little bit alarmed by Emma's sudden screaming.

"Miss. Emma..." Robin began, but Emma cut her off.

"What should I do?!" She cried, clutching the sides of her head, as tears gathered in her eyes. "I know I should be more worried about Nami right now, but please, _get Doflamingo's mark off me_!"

Ace was suddenly there, and he grabbed Emma's wrists, forcing her to look up at him. "Emiko, calm down." He said, in a serious tone. "I can do something."

Zoro and Robin stared at him.

"You can...?" Emma whispered.

Ace nodded. "I can't remove it completely, but I can fix it. Do you want me to do that?"

"If it gets rid of his mark, then please, Ace-Chan..._please_..." Her voice cracked, and genuine tears fell from her eyes.

Ace wiped the tears away, cupping the sides of Emma's face in his hands. "Emiko...I'm _so_ sorry...that I wasn't able to protect you...what happened to you up there?"

Emma closed her eyes, as more tears fell unhindered, and Ace sighed, and drew her close to him. "When we get back to the Thousand Sunny...it'll be okay, I promise..."

* * *

Emma sighed, burying her face in her arms, and not feeling anything due to the anaesthetic, as Ace worked on her back. They were in the med bay of the Thousand Sunny - Chopper had agreed to let them use the room, as long as they didn't mess up any of his equipment.

"I'm so weak..." Emma muttered. "I couldn't stop Nami from getting shot...I couldn't stand up against Doflamingo's powers...it was so lucky that Nami got the key, and that Robin-San is so strong..."

"You're such a downer." Ace muttered, concentrating on his work. "It happens to all of us."

"Hmm...I can't _believe_ I got kidnapped, too..." Emma closed her eyes. "Ace-Chan, am I really meant to be on this team?"

"What do you mean?" He asked her, knowing full well what she meant.

"Well, once we find the last Ally - I bet it's Brook - you guys won't need me anymore..." Emma began, but Ace cut her off.

"Stop it." He said firmly. "How much longer are you going to deny it?"

"Deny what?"

"The fact that you're important to us." Ace replied, using a clothe to clean away the blood on her bare-back. He was mindful of the fact that she was only wearing a pair of pants - the Thousand Sunny was warm and toasty enough, thanks to its winter modifications, so Emma could get away with this, for now. "We risked our _lives_ to save you."

"You saved Robin-San, too." Emma mumbled.

"We didn't _know_ that she would be there with you." Ace replied. "You should have heard Nami - she wouldn't stop until she'd found you. She kept on yelling at Trafalgar and I, as well...said something about us getting along _better_ when you were around..."

Emma laughed softly. "Really? _That's_ saying something..." She sobered slightly. She hadn't told Ace about what had happened in that room, and she didn't plan to. She didn't know which part was worse, but he wouldn't react well to _any_ of them, for sure! "Ace-Chan...thank you..."

"For what?" He asked, as he wiped away the last of the blood.

"For always putting up with me...I know I can be a real handful at times..." Emma replied.

It was Ace's turn to laugh. "Maybe. But, you know I love you."

_He said it!_ Emma thought, her eyes sparkling, as Ace stood back.

"Okay, all done!" The Whitebeard pirate said, smiling at his handiwork. "Take a look."

"O-okay..." Emma started to get up, and then she blushed. "Hang on, don't look!" She scolded him, covering her chest with her arms, as she walked over to the mirror on the wall. She turned around, and looked over her shoulder, staring at the new mark on her back. She just stared, and Ace came over and stared with her.

"Well, what do you think?" He was getting slightly worried by her silence. "Do you like it?"

"...How?" She asked quietly.

He began tracing carefully across her back and, due to the anaesthetic, she didn't feel it. "Well, I just shifted this by cutting here and inking here..."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"They all love you just as much as I...well, sort of, just...not in the same way...ah, you know what I mean." Ace shrugged.

Emma swallowed, her heart pounding in her chest. She was suddenly aware of how dim the room was - it was lit only by candles, courtesy of Ace himself. Emma clasped her hands to her chest, considering what this all meant. She then turned to Ace and, in an instant, she'd pounced on him.

Pinning him to the ground, she couldn't keep the lopsided grin off her face. Leaning down close to Ace's surprised face, she whispered: "I _love_ it."

He grinned, and kissed her, and both of them felt the electrical current run through their bodies. And, considering how skimpily they were both dressed, this was very interesting for them, as Ace ran his hands down Emma's waist, and Emma kept her hands on Ace's chest, feeling his heart beating as wildly as what hers was. They stopped only long enough for Ace to give Emma her ring back (after she promised to never take it off again) and then they resumed their make-out session, which started to get a bit steamy when Ace's hands travelled even _further_ southwards down Emma's back, and she bit back a startled gasp.

Ace's grin became devilish, and he began trailing kisses down her neck, letting his lips brush against the soft part of her throat, as she arched her newly tattoed back despite herself. She moaned softly - she had never done that before, but now seemed like the perfect time to do it.

"Ace-Chan..." She whispered, just as the door to the med-bay was opened.

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Chopper asked, as he walked into the room with Law, and then the two doctors stopped.

They stopped and stared.

Emma stared back at them and, beneath her, Ace had frozen.

"Aah, my eyes!" Chopper cried, turning away.

"Aah, my dignity!" Emma cried, springing up with her arms crossed over her chest, as she quickly turned around, but this was quite possibly a mistake.

Because now, there for Law to see, was the new mark on Emma's back - the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates, there in all its glory. How Ace had managed to convert Doflamingo's mark to Whitebeard's mark, nobody would ever know but, he had, and that was all that really mattered.

As Emma blushed furiously and tried to find a t-shirt, or a dress, or something, and Chopper mumbled something about being scarred both physically and mentally, Ace got to his feet, and found one Trafalgar Law _glaring_ at him.

Ace returned the glare, but there was a hint of smugness there, too, as Emma finally succeeded in finding a dress to put on, with thanks to Robin who had shown up.

"Nami-Chan is awake now." She said, sounding relieved but still managing to look serene.

Emma gasped. "I'm going to go and see her!" She declared.

Robin nodded. "We'll all go together, okay?" She asked, glancing at Chopper, who nodded, and led the two women out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Ace and Law were left alone, facing each other.

"So?" Ace crossed his arms.

Law glared at him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Those two guys that the monster trio were fighting were Diamante and ****Trébol.**

**. Flint-locked blunderbuss...heh, I just love that concept. This is the second time that one's shown up.**

* * *

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - oh, that's true. They're everywhere, doing everything, after all. DON'T MAKE EYE-CONTACT! Lol, I can see that you're still on about Emmace, now Lawma (Lawma?). XD Oh well, you'll just have to wait and seeee..._

_WindWhistle21 - making people die of excitement is what I do best. But, I also enjoy answering people's reviews. If you can take the time to review, then I can certainly take the time to answer them all. :) And, yes, Law and Sanji friendship is epic._

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - although, Boa wants a Luffy-shaped cookie, I'm sure of it. Toss one down into Hell for her, and see if she goes after it. Yes, go Slytherin! *Grabs Flintlocked Blunderbuss* Let's go hunt us some chocolate! Thanks for the review!_

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan - don't worry, Robin made the big bad flamingo man pay! ^^ Tashigi is VERY obsessed with Zoro, it goes BEYOND her duties as a Marine, I believe. It could be a big problem for her, soon enough, though...heh heh heh...oh well and, don't worry, over-active imaginations are a GOOD thing!_

_KaiF . Raphaella - thanks so much for your review and continued support! XD_

_MsWildLuck - the flamingo is as the flamingo does, and the flamingo does what he wants (damn it, he should've said that in the story!). I'm glad that you and Boa are enjoying my story! *Returns the thumbs-up*_

_Cocoa Liddell - don't worry, things will start to get a lot clearer for them all, soon enough...about as clear as mud. ^^ But, yes, she and Ace DO need each other right now, and will very soon. *Prediction* Thanks for the review! :D_


	23. Nightmares And Daydreams

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Nightmares And Daydreams

* * *

"I'm falling to pieces , (cos when a heart breaks no it don't breakeven), oh you got his heart and my heart and none of the pain..."

Penelope, Jacob, Robert, Carmilla and Georgia listened silently to the music. They had acquired Emma's I-Pod and wallet, but neither of these items was going to help them figure this out at all.

Except...

"Carmilla, I think we made a mistake." Georgia said suddenly.

Carmilla's blue eyes switched to her sister. "Why is that, sis?"

"We should have kept this in our world...as weird as that sounds." Georgia muttered, leaning back in her chair. She was bored - she would have _killed_ to scan an image in at 350 dpi, and _that_ was saying something! This world was too primitive, too weird, too _insane_ for Georgia's liking. "I mean, I don't know Emma that _well_, but I know that she's not so bad as to warrant a _killing_ order..."

"_Ssh_!" Carmilla hissed.

Georgia raised an eyebrow. "_What_?!"

Penelope covered Georgia's mouth with her hand. "Even _walls_ have ears." She muttered darkly, looking around as if she expected to see a bunch of Enel-styled earlobes hanging from the ceiling.

Georgia rolled her eyes, but then she remembered that almost everybody that she'd met in this world had some freaky power, so she kept quiet.

Robert leaned forwards, suddenly looking older than he had before. "Georgia, in this world, you _can't_ say that sort of thing."

"Tell me why _not_." Georgia mumbled.

"These people," Jacob stated. "Are capable of killing, and won't hesitate to do so if you defy them."

"You saw what he did to that woman." Carmilla reminded Georgia, who shuddered despite herself. Carmilla's eyes softened. "Georgia, don't worry, we'll be okay...just keep your head down, and your mouth shut, and we'll survive and, hopefully, get home."

"Mum and Dad must be going insane by now." Georgia said ruefully.

Robert put a hand on her shoulder. "I know what you mean." He told her. "We'll stay together, and figure this out."

"Some of these guys on the ship _are_ pretty cute!" Penelope mused, and Carmilla face-palmed.

"Hey, I'm cute." Jacob reminded her.

"Not _really_." Penelope and Carmilla said in unison.

"Then again," Carmilla went on, looking serious all of a sudden. "If we _can't_ get back to our own world, then..." She exchanged a look with her colleagues.

"We start up our careers here?" Jacob guessed.

"We find ourselves a great love life here?" Penelope asked.

"We retire on a nice tropical island here?" Robert suggested.

Carmilla nodded. "We might not have any choice."

"No!" Georgia stood up angrily, snatching up Emma's I-Pod as she spoke. "I won't accept that!"

"Georgia, calm down." Robert said.

"I'll be upset if I want!" She retorted.

"No, Georgia, he's right." Penelope said, adjusting her glasses. "You have a lot of career options in this world."

"I don't care!" Georgia snapped, stubbornly. "I want to go back to _my_ world - to _our_ world!" She looked around at them. "We don't _belong_ in this world, and you know it." She then stalked over to the door, and threw it open, nearly making it go flying off its hinges.

She stalked straight past Garp, hardly seeing him at all, but he had heard everything, and he saw the tears glistening in the red-head's blue eyes.

* * *

"Hey, Chopper," Emma began, as she followed the reindeer and robin to the women's quarters. "Umm, whatever you might have seen..."

"I do not want to talk about it." Chopper said firmly, holding up one hoof. He muttered something about disinfecting his med-bay.

Emma blushed, but nodded. "Yes, one subject change, coming right up!" She said, with fake enthusiasm. "How's Nami's condition? Will her shoulder be okay?" She shuddered, remembering seeing the bullet tear through the navigator's skin.

Chopper nodded confidently. "_Hai_! Law and I worked on her shoulder. Some of the tendons were damaged but, once we were able to remove the bullet from where it was lodged between her clavicle and scapula, her mobility was restored, and her trapezius was able to start recovering on its own, as well!"

"...so, she'll be okay, right?"

Chopper looked up at Emma. "Within a few weeks, it should be back to normal."

Emma sighed. "That's a relief...I was so worried..."

Robin smiled, as they reached the door to the women's room, and she knocked lightly.

The door was immediately opened by Zoro. "Look, ero-cook..." He began, but then trailed off, seeing that the blonde was nowhere in sight. He sighed. "Or, not." He nodded to them, and moved aside to let them pass.

They found Nami sitting up in bed, reading a book. She was heavily bandaged at the shoulder, and looked a little bit pale but, other than that, she looked no worse for wear.

This worried Chopper, however. "Nami, what are you doing?!" He exclaimed, hurrying over to the bed. "You should still be lying down! Does it hurt anywhere?!"

Nami shook her head. "Surprisingly, no." She gave Chopper an odd look in response to the one he was giving her. "Why? _Should_ it be?"

Chopper considered this. "I suppose it's not a _bad_ thing, but...you're not supposed to heal so fast." He said, accusingly.

Nami rolled her eyes. "Says who? I feel great!" She stretched her arms, and then winced. "Or...maybe not..."

"Don't move it around so much!" Chopper fussed, climbing onto the little stool by the bed, where Zoro had previously been sitting, and carefully examined her shoulder.

Nami just sighed, and then looked over to the door, to where Robin and Emma were lingering.

"Robin-Nee-San, Emma, come in, it's okay." Nami smiled. "This is your room too, you know."

"Are you sure, Nami-Chan?" Robin asked her, as they stepped inside. "Emma-San and I could sleep elsewhere, or else you could stay in the med-bay, while you're recovering?"

Nami shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I feel fine." She noticed their disbelieving looks. "Really, I'm fine." The navigator looked thoughtful. "I actually feel stronger than I did a few weeks ago...oh, and that reminds me..." She began.

Robin smiled. "It was Luffy-San's birthday the other day, wasn't it?"

Nami nodded. "Yes. We were so busy running around, that we forgot. We should ask Sanji to make something special for him."

"I'm sure if _you_ ask him, then he will." Emma commented. _I can't believe I forgot Luffy's birthday! But, then again, he did, too...hey, come to think of it...that Saturday was my Mum's birthday...happy birthday, Mum..._

Nami laughed softly. "Perhaps."

Emma smiled, and then looked down. "Nami, I...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry that you got hurt..."

Nami waved it off. "Forget it. We're pirates - we're used to this. What about you?" She looked at her curiously. "Are you okay?"

Emma nodded. "Sure, sure..."

"And your back?" Nami asked suspiciously.

Emma paused, and then nodded. "Yeah...Ace-Chan fixed it for me."

"Really?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "How did he manage to do that?"

"Well, I'll show you later." Emma promised.

* * *

True to her word, at Luffy's birthday dinner the following night, after they ate dinner and then dessert (complete with the Birthday Song) and then a second dinner, Emma showed them her new tattoo (because Nami and Zoro told Luffy about it, and he commandeered her plate of pork chops and wouldn't give them back until she'd showed them).

Emma was wearing blue denim shorts and a purple singlet (borrowed from Nami), and she stood up and turned around, carefully lifting up the back of her top, and revealing her new and (highly) improved tattoo.

The reactions of everybody else (save for Chopper, Robin, Ace and Law, who had already all seen it) were varied.

"Eyaaaaaee?!" Franky shouted.

"Wow, I have to admire Ace's workmanship." Usopp praised.

"Yeah, he managed to fix it up good." Zoro admitted.

"Oh, Emma-Chwan, the beauty of your back is rivaled by no other!" Sanji cheered.

"Does this mean that she's a member of the Whitebeard Pirates now?" Yosaku wanted to know.

"It must be, bro." Johnny nodded seriously.

"You don't get somebody else's symbol tattooed onto your back..." Zoro muttered, and Nami shot him a sharp look. "Uh...present company accepted, Nami?"

_Where the Hell did he dig _that_ saying up from?_ Nami wondered, as she switched her gaze back to Emma, who had put her top back down, but was still standing with her back to them, nervously biting at her nails.

Nami glanced at Luffy, who was staring across at his brother. Ace was looking back at Luffy - they appeared to be having a silent conversation with their eyes.

Luffy looked up at Emma, and loudly announced: "Well I think it _rocks_!"

Emma turned around, looking surprised. "You do?"

He nodded. "Mmhmm. You can have whatever mark you want on your back." He told her. "It also matches Ace's." He grinned.

Emma looked visibly relieved.

"Then again, it's just a decoration." Nami stated. "And you know, decoration, _decor_, as in a room - Emma's been around long enough to make her own decisions, she's part of the furniture." She shrugged, and finished off her tomato soup. "More soup please, Sanji."

"Why of course, my little _mellorine_!" Sanji said immediately.

Emma returned to her seat next to Law, and then thought of something. "Hey, wait a minute, Law-San..." He glanced up at her. "What's _your_ crew eating?" She wanted to know, looking concerned. "Are they okay out there?" She asked, referring to the submarine.

Law shrugged. "They should be..."

"No, I don't accept that." Emma stated firmly. "We're all sitting here, eating Sanji-Kun's delicious cooking, and the rest of the Heart Pirates are probably wasting away to nothingness - we should share with them!" She declared.

"Oh, Emma-Chwan, you're so thoughtful!" Sanji sighed. "Always thinking about others!"

Emma grinned. "I'll go and get them now." She said, and headed up the staircase and out onto the deck.

"So, really," Zoro asked, once she was gone. "What _does_ everybody here think of her new tattoo? You may pass it off as nothing, but we _all_ know how big a deal this is." He glanced at Ace.

"I want her to join the Whitebeard Pirates." Ace said flatly, reaching for some more proscuitto.

"Forget it, she's joining us." Luffy said, just as flatly. "I don't care what mark she has on her back."

"Neither do I." Law said quietly.

The three of them exchanged a glance.

Robin barely suppressed a smile, unfazed by the current situation, even though the others seemed to be worried. She had a feeling that things would play out as they were meant to and, in the mean time, she would keep an eye on things...or two, or maybe even three...

* * *

The next day was a relaxing one. Johnny and Yosaku were training with Zoro (it was a very one-sided training session, since Zoro was clearly the better of the three). Sanji was doting on Robin and fussing over Nami's injury, as was Chopper, much to the orange-haired woman's annoyance, and Robin's amusement. Usopp was almost finished building the extra bed for Emma (she'd slept in Robin's bed the night before, and Robin had taken the night-watch). Franky was in the workshop as well, making an adjustment on the Thousand Sunny's heating system. Luffy was fishing, in the hopes of catching a good old East Blue Sea King. Ace was in the crows nest, keeping watch in case of danger, which he would immediately burn down for disrupting such a beautiful and peaceful day). Eight members of the Heart Pirates were finishing their breakfasts - they'd eaten later, as they'd gotten back late from getting supplies from a teeny-tiny nearby island - and one, their captain, was currently leaning on the railing overlooking the grass deck. His eyes were glued to the red-haired woman, sitting on the swing (_why_ did the Straw Hat's have a swing on their ship?) and singing.

"_Sometimes, the feeling is right, you fall in love for the first time...heart-beat, and kisses so sweet, summer-time love in the moonlight_..."

It was an interesting song, Law had to admit, but who was this Doctor Jones guy? Then again, Emma knew some pretty weird songs.

Just then, Emma jumped off the swing, leaping into the air and then rolling onto the grass, spring up in a defensive position.

Law raised an eyebrow. _What is she...?_

"A lowly Marine _dares_ to cross paths with the Demon Of War!" Emma said, in what she must have _thought_ was a whisper but, on the other side of the ship, Robin paused in her book-reading to listen. "But, the Demon Of War is no longer the useless child she once was!" She lashed out with a sudden front kick, before side-stepping, and getting her invisible foe into a head-lock.

Law then realised what she was doing - she was role-playing.

Robin smiled, and returned to her book.

Law watched Emma practice her moves. She seemed no worse for wear, despite her recent run-in with Doflamingo. Law still shuddered to think of what would have happened if Nami hadn't gotten that key.

Emma, standing with her back to him, suddenly said: "But, what's this? A _new_ challenger has stepped up, or _has_ he? Is the Surgeon Of Death too cowardly to take on the terrifying Demon Of War?" She lifted her right hand, and made the 'come on' signal with her finger. "Or, will he satisfy her?"

Law smirked. Oh, so she wanted him to satisfy her, did he?

Well, he certainly wouldn't say no to _that_.

* * *

Their days were spent in pretty much the same way - training, relaxing, and waiting for the compass to tell them where Brook was. So far, it hadn't given them any clues yet, but they decided that they weren't in much of a hurry.

After all, it wasn't like the world was going to end anytime soon, right?

Everybody began to notice that Ace and Law seemed to be silently and subtly warring for Emma's attention. Not in the childish and immature way, but with casual comments and the occasionally excuse - Law would request Emma's assistance if somebody got hurt, or Ace would say that he needed to clean the wounds around her tattoo for her. Every time, Emma would sigh, but smile, and go straight away.

On a particularly sunny day, everybody was relaxing, and enjoying the cold drinks made by Sanji.

Bepo was crashed out on the deck, complaining that it was too hot, and the girls had spent a great deal of time making a fuss over him, much to Shachi and Penguin's disbelief.

Now, the latter two, as well as Johnny and Yosaku, were sitting on the area of the deck that Usopp wanted to turn into a garden, and spying on the girls sunbathing on the other deck.

"Nami-Aneki sure is pretty, isn't she?" Yosaku said, staring at the orange-haired girl in the sexy red bikini.

"Bro, on a scale of one to ten, she is an eleven." Johnny informed his partner. "A total hottie."

"I dunno, I think that Nico Robin's mystery creates such beauty about her." Shachi admitted, nearly drooling as Robin stretched out on her deck-chair, showing off her new black one piece bathing suit. "So elegant and refined, a true woman of class."

"She's a babe..." Yosaku sighed dreamily.

"Then again, Emma's a real cutie, isn't she?" Penguin mused as the red-head, in a pale pink bikini with a black sarong, accepted the ice-cold lemonade from Sanji, who clearly thought the same thing as Penguin, because he was blushing.

"One foxy lady." Shachi agreed.

"Too bad she's already spoken for." The four men said in unison, looking kind of depressed as Usopp, who was busy planning his garden, just rolled his eyes but, for odd reason, his thoughts shifted over to Kaya. Usopp swallowed, and continued working.

* * *

"Hey, you know where we are right now?" Sanji realised, a little later on.

"On the ocean?" Luffy guessed, and Sanji kicked his captain's shin.

"I _mean_, this part of the East Blue!" Sanji snapped, and then he softened. "This is the part of the ocean near to Nami-Swan's home and Usopp's home..."

"Hey, you're right." Nami realised, sitting up in her deck chair. "That means that the Baratie is around here, too."

Emma looked at the gleam in Sanji's eye, and said: "Sanji-Kun, could it be that you want to stop by there?"

Sanji nodded eagerly. "Can we, can we, can we?"

Emma had to giggle at his eagerness. "Don't ask _me_," she looked over at Luffy. "It's up to the guy that you just kicked in the shin."

"Oh." Sanji paused, and then glanced at his captain. "Say, Luffy...you remember the food there, right?"

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Do I _ever_! let's go! Franky!" He called. "Set a course for the Baratie!"

Nami rolled her eyes, and got to her feet, stretching (and, causing Sanji's nose to bleed a little), saying: "I'll take over for awhile, Franky...hmm...?" She suddenly looked out at the sea, and her eyes narrowed.

Emma was saying: "Sanji-Kun, what is Zeff like? I can't wait to meet him!"

Luffy rolled his eyes. "Oh Emmy, not him _too_."

"_What_?!"

"Why do you always want to meet all these weird old guys?" Luffy asked her, putting his hands on his hips.

"Umm..." Emma shrugged. "I guess it's because I don't get along with my Dad the way I used to, or maybe I just miss my Granddad, _I don't know_!" She snapped. "I'm gonna go and find Ace-Chan..." She started to walk off, but Nami stopped her.

"On second thoughts, get everybody ready - there's a storm coming, and it's coming in _fast_." The navigator stated.

"I hate it when she says that." Luffy complained, but they all knew that he would pitch in and help - he didn't want to die, either.

Emma was panicked - it was her first storm out at sea! "Ace-Chan!" She called, and he was at her side nearly instantly. "Nami says there's a storm coming!"

Ace nodded calmly, and said: "Get below deck for now - we'll call you if we need any help."

Law gave him a Look that read: No we _won't_._  
_

The others had to tell Usopp that he was _not_ allowed to go below deck. He had to stay and help.

* * *

Down below deck, Emma sat on her new bed, as the ship was tossed around like a toy boat. She was suddenly so sure that they would crash and die somewhere. She had gotten changed, into a simple white dress, and was in the process of cleaning her promise ring, when her elbow brushed against her compass sitting beside her.

At once, a reddish-pink hologram appeared above it.

"What...is that thing?" Emma asked herself flatly, as the skeleton cat in the neck-tie yowled silently to the moon. "Of course...Brook would still be a skeleton...he's so cute!" She declared, just as another wave rocked the ship, and the compass flew from her hand. Emma was about to scrambled after it, when the door to the women's quarters was thrown open, and Zoro, Law and Chopper rushed in - the two human men were carrying Nami, who had blood all down her shoulder.

"Her wound opened up again!" Chopper told Emma, as they laid Nami on the bed, and she let out a pained cry, looking pale. "Get a doctor, quickly!"

"You _are_ a doctor!" Emma and Zoro told him._  
_

Emma looked over at Law. "What do you need. Law-San?" She asked quickly.

"Anesthetic." Law replied briskly.

"I'm all out of it in my med-bay." Chopper told him, climbing onto a stool by Nami's bedside, and beginning to unwrap her bandages. "Do you have some on your sub?"

"I do. I'll get my crew to dive after I get what I need." Law nodded, and hurried out of the room.

Zoro looked at Emma. "Go with him - make sure he doesn't fall overboard."

Emma nodded, and dashed out of the room, making her way up onto the deck.

It was like being under attack. It felt as if all the water in the world had been collected and dumped onto that one section of the East Blue. She was drenched within a second of being out there.

She saw Luffy and Sanji rushing around, securing things and following Robin's orders. Franky and Ace were managing the helm.

Emma saw Law heading for the side of the ship, the side that his submarine was on. She envisioned his crew rushing about inside, keeping it stable for him to board.

Then, as if in slow motion, a massive wave rocked the ship, and Law lost his footing. He was thrown across the ship, and Emma immediately sent out a ribbon that grabbed onto him.

Just as it did, a second wave hit them, and Emma grabbed onto the first thing handy, which happened to be something that wasn't nailed down.

Oh well. At least it gave them something to grab onto when they went overboard.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" Usopp yelled from the crow's nest, just a _third_ wave rocked the ship, and pushed Emma and Law, both of them clinging to the safety of a piece of driftwood that, hopefully would float, away from the Thousand Sunny.

A wave crashed into them, bringing with it more driftwood, and one of them blacked out.

* * *

"Okay, is everybody in one piece?" Nami, with her newly bandaged shoulder and a grim expression, asked, surveying the crew. They all nodded. "Okay, so who's not here?"

"Umm..." Usopp stepped forwards. "It's Law, and...Emma...they got washed overboard during the storm."

Everybody was shocked, to say the very least.

Ace had paled. "What?!" He cried, looking stunned. "But...she can't swim! No, no, no!" He clenched his fists.

"Ace, it's okay!" Usopp said quickly, alarmed by the Whitebeard pirate's panic. "Emma managed to grab a piece of driftwood before she went over."

"But, how can we be sure it will float and keep her above the water?!" Ace exclaimed, actually wringing his hands.

"We don't." Robin said flatly, but she held up Emma's compass, which emitted a small pinprick of light that pointed into the distance, towards the rising sun. "But, the _Tomodachi No Konpasu_ does."

"That thing helped Emma to find us all," Nami mumbled, sinking into a nearby chair as Ace stared at the compass with an unreadable expression on his face. "And, now we keep using it to find her...just _what_ is it?"_  
_

Robin turned the compass over in her hand, and said: "It has an inscription on the back - written in our ancient language."

Everybody stared at her for a second, then Nami asked: "Can...can you read it?"

Robin nodded. "_Hai_. It is literally translated into _Hikari No Hime_ - Princess Of Light. It is meant to belong to the Princess of ancient legends. It is possible that Emma-San is carrying it for the Princess, or even that Emma-San _is_ th-"

"Marine ship off the port bow!" Nami suddenly cried, pointing, and everybody froze.

"Evasive actions!" Luffy shouted, and everybody scurried to do what was needed.

Ace was squinting at the approaching ship. "Hang on...is that, _Ojichan_ on the deck?"

"...evasive actions!"

"Hold on, Luffy, he's waving a white flag!" Ace realised.

"_Evasive actions_!"

"_I can hear you, you ungrateful brat_!" Garp shouted, shaking his fist. "_Just you wait until I get there_!"_  
_

"Go, go, GO!"

* * *

Ace and Luffy had bruises on their faces, and Garp was sitting on the deck, arms crossed, looking annoyed.

"Are you _sure_ this is okay?" Bepo whispered nervously.

"Don't worry, that's their Grandfather." Nami replied. "He's...a strange one."

"_I heard that, young lady_!"

"Good!"

"_Ojichan_, we _really_ don't need this now." Ace said, glaring at Garp. "Emiko's missi-"

"WHAT?!" Garp shouted, standing up fast. "_You lost Emma_?! _I should have known you were too young for this, Ace_!"

Ace stood his ground. "Don't you give me that, _Ojichan_! Don't act like you care so much about her!"

"What would _you_ know?!" Garp was furious.

"You haven't _been_ here!" Ace reminded him. "You weren't here when she was kidnapped and abused by Doflamingo! You weren't here when we fell off the cliff-wall! You weren't here when she was being hunted, strangled and nearly bloody _killed_ by all the men sent by _your_ people!"_  
_

Garp was frozen on the deck, looking shocked. He was speechless.

"Just tell us why you're here, _Ojichan_." Luffy said, crossing his arms.

Garp glanced at him in surprise, and then nodded. He walked back onto the Marine ship (the Marines on board were sworn the secrecy, and had actually kind of _agreed_ to this peaceful contact with the pirates) and returned a few minutes later.

"All of you," he said, stepping aside to reveal the young woman standing on the deck, looking stoic. "Say hello to Georgia Brown - she's going to stay with you from now on."

Everybody stared at her.

She stared back at them.

"Who are you?" Nami asked her.

"Does it matter?" Georgia said flatly.

"You can't say no." Garp added.

"I hate you." Ace sighed, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Another troublesome woman..._great_..." Zoro muttered.

"Mellorine..." Sanji sighed.

Nami rolled her eyes.

Georgia suddenly noticed that Bepo was standing near her. "Ahh, a bear!" She cried.

"Ahh, a ginger!" Bepo panicked at the sight of another red-head.

"Hey, only a ginger can call another ginger a ginger!" Georgia snapped.

"Okay then, _ginger_," Nami said, stepping forwards. "I repeat - _who are you_?"_  
_

"I'm Emma's classmate." Georgia replied. "You know, the one who stole her necklace. Yeah, that's me."

...

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Law sat on the driftwood, keeping one hand on the unconscious Emma, and his eyes on the lookout. But, aside from the occasional seagull, and a hammerhead shark, Law hadn't seen anything for the past day and a half, and Emma was still unconscious. He had checked her injuries and bandaged up her head with one of the bandages he always kept in the inside of his jacket. And, he made sure to lay his jacket over her, to protect her fro the sun. It beat down relentlessly, and he knew that they would both need food but, more importantly, _water_.

This was an unexpected turn of events, and Law had a feeling that he knew why - they'd grown complacent with the calmness of the previous few days, and he had a feeling that the others would be worrying about them (well, mainly about Emma).

_Especially_ Ace.

Slowly, Law came to grips with this, and nodded to himself. This could turn out perfect.

It was around this point, that Law felt Emma shift slightly, and he glanced at her, as she groaned, and opened her eyes.

"You okay?" Law asked her, his throat sore from lack of water.

Emma nodded, sitting up slowly and then faltering. Law caught her gently, keeping his hands under her elbows as she looked around in confusion. "Where are we?" Her voice sounded just as dry as his did.

"You don't remember what happened?" He asked her, and she shook her head. He looked at her suspiciously. "You don't remember where you were?" She shook her head again, not looking at him. "Do you...remember who _I_ am?"_  
_

One hand went to her throat, as she shook her head again. "I'm sorry, no..." She whispered. "I don't even remember who _I_ am...how do we know each other again?"

Oh yes, this could turn out to be _more_ than perfect.

* * *

"All I knew is that my sister was missing." Georgia defended herself. "What would any of _you_ have done?" She locked gazes with Nami. "_You_ have a sister, right?"

'Yes..." Nami said. She was still suspicious. "I wouldn't steal a necklace from somebody, though!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Nami..."

"Shut up Zoro!" Nami snapped. She turned back to Georgia. "Why should we trust you? Why are you _here_?"

"Because I want to go home." Georgia replied firmly. "I want out."

"Well, that's selfish of you, then, isn't it?" Nami rolled her eyes. "Thanks to you, _none_ of us can go back, since Little Death got the necklace. And, you could've just _asked_ us to do it for you..."

"Why would _you_ have done it?!" Georgia asked them all, angrily. "My sister arrested Emma, remember? She and the others are working with the Marines now, but..." She glanced over at Garp, who nodded slightly. "I just want to go back...I miss my parents, and my work, and my boyfriend..."

"So," Usopp cut her off. "Did you research our world, like Emma did?"

Georgia nodded. "Yeah. Once I recognized Ace's tattoo, I started looking around." She shrugged. "Google told me everything about you guys."

"Georgia-Chan," Sanji said, appearing from nowhere with a cold drink for her. "Worry not, my dear - we will find a way to get you back home (to that boyfriend of yours who is _so_ lucky)."

"Yeah, it _definitely_ told me about _you_." Georgia rolled her eyes, but accepted the drink from Sanji. She sipped on it (it was blue and fruity and delicious) and then said: "But, all of that aside, what would you say, if I told you that I know where your next Ally is?"

"I'd say 'how the Hell do you know that'?" Nami and Zoro said in perfect unison.

Georgia said: "Some lady named Faith came to see me, alright? She had blue eyes, was about the height of the talking moose over there..."

"I'm a _reindeer_!"

"And she said - and I quote - 'you find next Ally not in this world, you come to village haunted by little girl with strong dream, and two from other world will open the door'." Georgia said, and then noticed the confused looks that she was getting. "_What_?!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Think about it! You need both me and Emma to open this door to this other world, to find your next Ally! Then I - we - can go home...once we find the last Ally..."

"Why should we trust you?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, how do we know that Little Death didn't put you up to this?" Luffy asked, and Georgia's eyes flashed angrily.

"_Don't_ mention the name of that little bitch!" Georgia snapped. "I _hate_ being double-crossed like that, _especially_ when I trust somebody enough to _steal_ - I'm a police officer's sister, remember?"

"You know, that _did_ sound _just_ how Emma describes Faith." Usopp mused.

The others exchanged a glance, and then Zoro said: "So then, where is this village that's haunted?"

"You know." Georgia told him. "It's haunted by a _little girl_ with a _strong dream_..._your_ dream, Roronoa Zoro."

Zoro froze, and his face paled slightly. "How do you...?" She just looked at him. "Oh..." Zoro closed his eyes briefly. His hand was on the hilt of his white sword, and he could almost _see_ Kuina standing there, telling him how weak he was.

"Zoro." Luffy said, and the swordsman opened his eyes, and looked at his captain. Luffy looked serious. "Everybody, here's what we're going to do." He looked at Ace. "We want to find Emmy," he glanced at the Heart Pirates. "And, we also want to find Law. So, we'll head in the direction that the compass is pointing, and find them. Then, we'll go to...umm..."

"Shimotsuki Village." Zoro said quietly.

Nami nodded. "Shimotsuki Village." She repeated, standing up. "I think I charted that one a few months ago - I'll consult my maps and chart a course."

"You'll really help me?" Georgia sounded surprised. _They're really like this in real life?_

"Well, we're doing this for us, as well." Nami stated, with her back to Georgia, but then she turned around, and smiled briefly. "Don't double-cross us - I hate that, too!"

Georgia nodded. "Wouldn't dream of it." She replied, exchanging a smile with Garp.

* * *

"So, we're both pirates?" Emma said, and Law nodded. "Which crew?"

"Well, I'm the captain of the Heart Pirates." Law replied. "And you..." He trailed off, and then sighed. "You're undecided."

"Huh?" Emma blinked. "How can I be undecided? Do I have options? What are my options?" Law glanced at her. She was looking at him with a very serious expression, and then she seemed to think of something. "_Ohhhh_, or...are the people my options? Do I have lots of friends? What about my family? Do I have a boyfriend?"

Law was startled by all these questions, especially the last one.

"Law." Emma said and, startled by the lack of honorific more than anything, the surgeon looked at her. She had her head tilted to one side, with a curious expression on her face. "How _do_ we know each other? I feel as if you're somebody very important to me, but I..."

"_Ahoy there_!" A voice called out, and Emma and Law both turned to see a man rowing towards them. He was average-sized and muscular, and had black hair. He stopped by their piece of driftwood (which was barely big enough for the two of them). "I didn't expect to see drifters out here! Shipwrecked in the storm the other day, were we?"

Law and Emma didn't reply, and Emma moved so that she had placed Law between herself and the stranger.

The stranger noticed, and laughed. "No need to be shy, girlie! The name's Patty - I'm a sea-cook on a floating restaurant, the Baratie!" He said proudly.

It was then that Emma and Law realised just how hungry and thirsty that they actually were.

"Will you...please...let us eat at your restaurant, Patty?" Emma asked quietly, holding onto Law's arm. "We can't pay you..." She looked down, and then looked up again, holding onto Law's arm tighter. "But, we can work! Until our crew comes to collect us, we'll do whatever you want!" She wavered slightly, and Law caught her.

Patty looked surprised, but then he nodded slowly. "Well, I'll have to talk to the head-chef about this but, sure, climb aboard."

* * *

Zeff was, to say the very least, unimpressed that Patty had brought two strangers back, and berated the chef, telling him that he was turning into Sanji and couldn't say no just because one of the two was a girl.

He did, however, allow the two to be fed and watered. He, better than almost anybody, knew the feeling of being starved and parched like this.

The boy, Law, had been given a change of clothes - a white shirt and black pants.

The girl, Emma, also had on a new outfit - a white blouse and a white, knee-length skirt.

Zeff also noticed the bandage on Emma's head, and asked Law about it.

Law bluntly stated that they'd been washed overboard during a storm, and that Emma had been struck on the side of the head by a pice of driftwood. They'd clung to the other piece of driftwood in order to survive and, by some miracle, they had.

"You two are Devil Fruit users?" Zeff guessed. He noticed that Emma paused in her eating, and glanced at Law, who was sitting next to her.

Law nodded. "We are." He replied.

Emma blinked, and then swallowed her rice, glancing aside, as if trying to confirm that.

Zeff sighed, and had to ask the next question: "Amnesia?"

Law nodded. "I've assessed her injuries, and the recovery of her amnesia will hopefully respond well to positive influences."

"'_Her_' can hear you talking, you know." Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"So, you expect me to just keep you here, free of charge, while your girlfriend gets her memory back?" Zeff asked, leaning back.

Law glared at him. "I have ways of getting what I want."

Zeff wasn't fazed. "Oh, I'm about as scared of you as I would be of the World Government. I know very well who you two are."

"Wait, how does _he_ know who I am?" Emma asked, looking between the two men, who ignored her, so she got huffy, and got up and stomped out of the room.

She found her way down to the kitchen, just as the door opened, and Patty came bustling out holding a birthday cake.

Just then, a voice from the kitchens called: "Patty, get back in here, the lobster came back to life!"

"How the Hell did it do that?!" He cried, and shoved the cake at Emma, who staggered slightly under its weight as Patty turned back around, not really noticing who he'd just handed the plate to. "Here, cake for table seven!" He went back into the kitchens.

"Umm...okay..." Emma muttered and, feeling confused, walked out to the main dining room, holding the cake. She stared down at the candles, and something about their glittery flames reminded her of somebody. The writing on the cake read 'Happy Birthday, Jimmy'. Something about that...happy birthday...happy birthday to you...hmm...

Emma looked around for table seven but, just then, a little boy called out: "Lookit, there's my birthday cake!" Emma immediately headed in the direction of that voice, placing the cake on the take in front of the little seven year old, who was surrounded by his friends and family. Jimmy beamed up at Emma, and said: "You have to start singing the Birthday Song!" He said, and everybody looked at her. "Then, everybody _else_ joins in!"

Emma paled. What Birthday Song? What's a Birthday Song? A sudden thought found its way into her mind - of a very large group of people, sitting in a dining room and singing to a grinning young man with a straw hat...Emma clung onto that thought, but not too tightly. _Okay, I just have to concentrate...okay...here goes..._

* * *

Patty suddenly realised what he had done, and sprinted out of the kitchen, followed by the other chefs but, before they could reach the dining room, they heard the sounds of singing. The entire restaurant was singing happy birthday to little Jimmy, and one clear voice sang soprano over the rest. They stared at the new girl, Emma, and Law and Zeff, who were standing at the top of the stairs, did too.

Zeff just shook his head, but then he glanced at Law, and correctly interpreted the look on the boy's face. Zeff sighed - how troublesome.

At the end of the song, people started clapping, and then exclaiming:

"I'm _so_ coming back here for _my_ birthday!"

"Can I get another steak over here, please?!"

"Waitress, please tell me your name!"

"Umm, it's...Emma..." She replied, bowing her head slightly, and then she hightailed it up the stairs to where Law and Zeff were waiting for her. "Law, did you see?" Emma asked, sounding a little breathless. "I saw that cake and remembered that song, because we sang it for somebody the other night! This place is going to help me get my memories back!" She declared, grabbing his hands. "Isn't that great?!"

"Yeah, except that guy says we can't stay here." Law nodded towards Zeff.

Emma's smile fell, and she glanced at Zeff. "But...why not? We'll work hard, I promise!" She said, looking determined. "I'm sure our crew will find us soon, but...in the mean time...please, can we stay here?" Tears had filled her eyes.

Zeff sighed. "Fine, just don't cry. You can both work here as wait-staff, for food and bed."

"Yes!" Emma looked happy again. She hugged Zeff quickly, taking him by surprise. "You won't be disappointed, I promise!"

"Don't. Ever. Hug. Me. Ever. Again."

"Yes, Chef!"

* * *

Over the next few days, Emma and Law worked as wait-staff on the Baratie, taking orders and, in Emma's case, occasionally singing for people's birthdays. Word had spread about a red-haired waitress with an amazing singing voice, and more and more people were coming in. The chefs were stoked, and encouraged Emma to sing. Plus, they were cooking better and better meals, fuelled by the huge crowds of customers. Patty was walking on Cloud Nine.

Emma was a little confused by all of this, but she was going to take any chance to get her memories back.

Meanwhile, she tried to get Law to tell her more about the stuff she couldn't remember, but he told her that she had to remember by herself, or else it would be bad for her memory. Sometimes, when she closed her eyes, she would be able to picture a few things - that kid with the straw hat, a pretty woman with stunning blue eyes...and, she thought, she could remember herself locked in an embrace, passionately kissing...somebody.

She had a lover, she was sure of it, but...who was it?

Over those days, Emma would notice Law watching her, and he would smile whenever she got an old memory back, or remembered a song (people often stated that her songs were weird, but she didn't care, and neither did they). Then again, Law was almost _always_ smiling, but his cool grey eyes seemed to light up, whenever Emma recalled something.

The cooks even caught him smirking, when Emma remembered a song called _The Power Of Love_.

Then, on the third day, something very interesting happened.

A very rich family came into the restaurant. Patty was in his element, showing the family of four to their specially reserved table by the window. They left their maid outside, standing by the door, and looking very lonely. She was only a young girl, maybe around ten, and she had short dark blue hair and amber eyes.

Patty said that somebody would be out to take their order, and then he rushed back to the kitchens, and told Emma to go out there, since Law had a habit of saying things he shouldn't to the customers, and this was a very rich family.

Emma nodded and, taking up her pad of paper, walked out into the dining room and over to the table.

"Hello, may I take your orders now?" She asked politely.

The Father nodded, and ordered the steak. The Mother ordered a salad.

The son smirked up at Emma, and said: "Hey there, cutie - what would _you_ recommend?"

_Augh_. Emma thought, before she checked herself, and said: "Sir, I would recommend the grilled salmon, personally."

"Well, if you recommend it, then I shall have it." He winked at her, and she shuddered inwardly, before turning towards the boy's twin sister.

"And for you, Miss?"

The blonde-haired girl rolled her eyes. "You shall address me as Carlotta, serving girl." She said, with the air of one whom is high and mighty.

Emma nodded. "Very well then. What would you like, Carlotta?"

Carlotta glared at her for not adding -Sama onto it, and then consulted her menu. "I would like something low fat, that won't fill me up, and his no calories and is low in fibre."

_Really?_ Emma thought, and then she nodded. "Okay, so that's one steak medium rare, one Caesar Clown Salad, one grilled salmon, and one water."

Patty face-palmed, and Law smirked, as Carlotta's face grew red and she demanded to have Emma fired. Patty had to step in and help.

* * *

A short time later, as Law and Emma were attending to another table, where the baby had decided to throw poi, and Emma had to convince him that this _wasn't_ a good idea, Carlotta was staring at her pumpkin soup with disdain, when she got an idea.

She called Emma over, not liking how, for once, men were staring at somebody _other_ than her. Carlotta was used to being the most beautiful girl in the vicinity, and didn't like sharing her spotlight with some red-head waitress.

"Serving girl," Carlotta said, pointing to her soup. "This soup is cold - take it back and get me a new one."

"Yes, right away, Miss." Emma replied, and went to pick up the bowl, only to find that Carlotta had been lying, and that the soup was perfectly fine - in fact, the bowl burnt her fingers. Emma gasped, and drew her hands back sharply.

Law looked over quickly, realising what had happened, when Carlotta said: "Serving girl, I _said_, take this bowl away!"

"Miss, I think you'll find that it's perfectly fine." Emma said, clenching her fists not out of anger, but to try and numb the pain. "But, if you just wait a few moments..."

"No, I said _now_!" Carlotta snapped, and sent the bowl flying with a flick of her wrist.

Emma gasped and, instinctively, she dived to the floor, catching the bowl before it hit the floor and broke. Emma gritted her teeth as a fresh wave of pain coursed through her fingers, and she sat up, taking off her waitress' cap and using it to hold the hot bowl of soup, before standing up.

The only sound for a moment was the spoon in the bowl scraping against the side, and then Carlotta laughed at her. "What was _that_ for? Saving food when there's plenty of it go around? Typical serving-girl!"

"Shut up!" Emma snapped, and a few people gasped. Patty was in the corner, sobbing in an emo state of depression. "You don't know what it's like to go hungry, do you?" She shook her head. "Typical rich-girl."

"Why, you little bitch!" Carlotta cried, standing up and raising her hand to slap Emma, but another hand grabbed her wrist.

Emma and Carlotta looked, to see Law standing there.

Carlotta blushed, and immediately began to flutter her eyelashes. "Oh, my, aren't _you_ a handsome man...may I know your name?"

Emma glared at her. "Back off, Law's _mine_!" She snapped, before she could stop herself, and Law looked surprised, before he smirked.

"How _dare_ you speak to me like that!" Carlotta told her.

"Carlotta, calm down!" Her Father cried, but Carlotta ignored him, yanking her wrist free of Law's grip, and then going to slap Emma again - hey, it worked on her maid, Lily, so why shouldn't it work on _this_ girl?

The answer was soon clear. Emma, whose hands were full, couldn't block, so she did the only thing she _could_ do - almost on instinct, she stepped back into her fighting stance, before bringing her leg up, kicking Carlotta's hand away, and following through with a side-kick to the girl's stomach.

Almost everybody gasped, and a few people screamed, as Carlotta went flying backwards, and hit a wall.

Patty had fainted by this stage, and the other chefs were shocked, wondering how such a polite and sweet girl like Emma knew how to do that.

Only Zeff, standing at the top of the stairs, recognized the kicking style, and he was, to say the very least, somewhat stunned. He suddenly had a good idea of who had taught Emma that, as he watched her walk out of the restaurant, towards the blue-haired maid.

* * *

As Lily ate her soup, not really caring _how_ hot it was, Law tended to Emma's fingers, rubbing cream into them and then putting a special bandage on them.

Lily finished her soup, scraping the spoon along the bowl to get every single last skerrick of soup, and then she looked over at Emma and Law, who were looking at each other, and innocently asked: "Are you two...gonna kiss?"

Emma blushed, and jumped back.

Law smiled. "Whatever gave you that idea, Lily-Ya?"

"Because you're boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" Lily said shyly. "I mean, you called him yours, didn't you, Emma?"

Emma blushed even more, and looked down. "W-well, yes...I suppose I did..." She glanced at Law, who was looking at her, and then looked away, embarrassed.

She could feel Law's gaze on her, though, and a very strange - but, at the same time, nice - feeling in her chest.

* * *

Later that night, after cleaning up the restaurant, Law found Emma outside, looking up at the stars. She looked no worse for wear, despite having been scolded by both Patty and Zeff, and having to clean up after what had happened with Carlotta.

"Law," Emma said, without looking at him. "I've been wondering..." She turned around and looked intently at him. "Why do you care so much about me?"

Law stared at her for a moment, before taking another step closer to her. "Because I love you." He said bluntly, and watched as her eyes lit up.

"I _knew_ it!" She exclaimed, looking thrilled. "I _knew_ that must be what you are to me! Because...because whenever I'm with you, I feel like...well, I dunno, but I want you with me all the time!" She smiled her lopsided smile. "I love you, too, Law-Chan!" She said, before she threw her arms around him and kissed him.

Law was surprised at first, but he quickly got over that and returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Emma and drawing him up to her, so that her feet were no longer on the ground. There was a heat between them, a fire that caused them to kiss each other with a disorientated vehement passion. It was clearing and purifying, and another veil of fog was lifted from Emma's mind.

She had a mission...a duty to fulfil. She wasn't just a regular person, she had powers, and she had things that she had to do. And, Law was the one who was meant to help her with it. She knew that much. She also knew that she never wanted to let Law go, ever again.

From up on the top deck, Zeff watched the couple embrace, and shook his head. He didn't know what was going on, but he was almost _completely_ positive that Law was taking advantage of Emma in her weakened state.

* * *

The next day, Emma and Law continued with their work, which included Law annoying Patty by annoying the customers, Emma remembering another song (_Starless Night_), and both of them getting in trouble with Zeff when they took a two-hour lunch break.

"Wait, kid," Zeff said, and Emma turned around, questioningly. "Tell me - who taught you how to fight?"

Emma frowned, and bit on her thumbnail. Law grabbed her hand to stop her from doing that. "I...I don't really remember..." She closed her eyes, and tried to envision something. "He...it was a he...he was..." She suddenly smelled smoke, and gasped. "He always smoked a cigarette! But...wait a minute..."

Something rocked the seat restaurant, and the three of them staggered.

They all looked up, grimacing, and wondering what was going on.

Carne suddenly came running into the room, looking out of breath. "Chef Zeff!" He cried. "It's...it's..."

"It's what?!" Zeff snapped.

"It's a huge man, in a pink coat!" Carne said, and Law froze. "He's...he's riding on a giant red, fire-breathing dragon!"

* * *

"So," Georgia approached Luffy. "You're supposed to be the captain of this ship?"

Luffy grinned. "Yup. Shishishi..."

"Uh-huh." Georgia raised an eyebrow. "Then...why are _you_ tied to the mast?"

"Because he was trying to break into the fridge!" Nami snapped, her hands on her hips, as she glared at Luffy. "_Weren't_ you, Luffy?"

Luffy glanced to the side. "No," he said, through pursed lips. "Of course I...wasn't."

"What a liar." Nami and Georgia said in unison.

"Hey, _minna_!" Franky called suddenly from the helm. "You'd better come and take a look at this!"

Everybody ran to the front of the ship.

"It's the Baratie!" Sanji exclaimed, but then he he paused. "But...what's that thing?"

"It looks like a...dragon..." Georgia commented, squinting. "A fire-breathing one, at that..." She noted.

"It's attacking the Baratie!" Nami realised, gasping, as Sanji paled. "Franky, full speed ahead!" _I can't believe this is happening - why does this _always_ happen to us lately?!_

* * *

"Fufufufu!" Doflamingo cackled, enjoying the screams of people who were terrified of the dragon. "Do you like my pet dragon?" Vegapunk had artificially created this dragon, and Doflamingo had asked to borrow it. It was a lot more fun, getting his revenge this way. "La-aw, where _are_ you?"

"What do you want, Doflamingo?" Law asked, from where he stood calmly up on the rooftop of the Baratie.

Doflamingo brought the dragon down a bit (he was controlling it using special reins, made by Vegapunk). "You know what I want, Law - I want what's mine."

Law replied: "Not gonna happen, Doflamingo." He glanced at something in the horizon, and identified the Thousand Sunny.

Doflamingo smirked. "You should know by now, Law, that I _always_ get what I want."

"Yeah, well, not this time." Law answered.

Doflamingo pulled on the reins a bit, and the dragon arched its head back, gathering energy and heat in its mouth, before it unleashed a wave of flames straight at Law.

Something dashed in front of Law, and appeared there, arms outstretched, not only blocking the flames but absorbing them.

Law stared at the Whitebeard mark on Ace's back, as the flames vanished, and Ace half-glanced over his shoulder, smirking. "Saved ya." He said. "Where's Emiko?"

Law smirked, unable to stop himself from doing so. "She's below You might not wanna see her, though." He added.

"Why not?" Ace asked, just as the dragon unleashed another wave of flames at them.

* * *

Patty and Carne, along with the other chefs, were trying to figure out who the Hell that was up there, and then Emma said: "That's...Doflamingo, I think his name is..." She was standing by the railing, staring up at the fight. "I know him...but...how...?" She felt a flash of pain through her back, and gripped the railing. "_Why_ can't I remember?"

Just then, Doflamingo noticed her. "Fufufu, so _there_ you are, my little birdie!"

Emma took a half-step back. "I..."

"So, you can't remember me?" Doflamingo smirked. "That's the great thing about amnesia - I can mould you to my way now, little bird!" He directed the dragon towards Emma. "You'll be mine!"

She cried out, suddenly unable to move, from both fear and shock. Zeff suddenly grabbed her, and dragged her out of the way. They both hit the wall, and Emma felt something sharp hit the side of her head, causing her to blackout.

* * *

_Running through a war zone, stopping Akainu from killing Luffy and Ace._

_Discovering that her favourite anime was real._

_Finding the three cats in her room, and listening to Law as he told her how to stitch up Luffy's side._

_Finding Garp in Fremantle, and taming the wild dogs._

_Finding the half of the compass in her back yard, and finding out that Ace's crew were in Dunsborough._

_Getting arrested, and taking on Coby, and having Law save her because she wasn't strong enough._

_Meeting Sumi, and Whitebeard._

_Finding out abouts gods and goddesses._

_Travelling back to the One Piece world, and finding Zoro in Louge Town._

_Travelling to Cocoyashi Village, and having Nami and the others save her from Nezumi._

_Her parents coming home, and arguing with them._

_Law kissing her, because she _owed_ him._

_Meeting Moonbay Fox, and finding Usopp and chopper, before watching a battle between her friends and the Marines._

_Realising that she was in love...in love with Ace, and him kissing her._

_The feeling being wrapped up in Ace's arms, and knowing how much he loved and needed her._

_The party at Ashlee's, and then Ace meeting the parents._

_Finding Sanji and meeting Kaya, whilst having to deal with some Celestial Dragons._

_Finding out about Sumi's past._

_Helping Nojiko, and introducing her new friends to her old friends._

_Having her necklace stolen by Georgia, and going to the Dawn Service to honour her Grandfather._

_Ace proposing to her, and her accepting._

_Battling and beating Coby, before being transported into the One Piece world, maybe permanently._

_Finding Franky, and the Thousand Sunny._

_Realising that she was in love with both Ace and Law._

_Getting captured by Doflamingo, and branded with his mark._

_Ace transforming the mark on her back into Whitebeard's mark._

_Getting thrown into the ocean, along with Law, during the storm._

_Their mission...to find the other Ally, and the Princess...her hopes, her dreams...everything..._

* * *

When Emma opened her eyes, she saw the Straw Hat crew crowded around her.

The first words out of her mouth were: "...the dragon?"

"Yin and Yang destroyed it." Nami said, and Emma recognized her, which was a big relief. She also recognized Robin and, for some odd reason, Georgia - why was Georgia here? Wasn't she supposed to be with the Marines or something?

So, Yin and Yang had come to help them. Emma didn't know why, but she had another, more important question right now.

"What about Doflamingo?"

"Doflamingo fell into the ocean." Robin replied. "I don't think we'll be seeing him again."

Emma nodded, and sat up. She was in a bed on the Baratie, with a new bandage around her head. "I'm sorry, you guys...for always being so much trouble...for you guys."

Nami looked shocked. "Wait, you remember us? But...Law said that..."

Emma suddenly gasped. "Wait, Law! Is he...but then Ace...oh no..." She suddenly remembered what had happened last night. "No...Nami, I..."

"What's wrong?" Nami asked, alarmed by the sudden depression in Emma's voice.

Emma buried her face in her hands. "Oh no...Nami...Robin-San, I...Law, he...I..."

"Did you two kiss?" Robin asked quietly.

Emma nodded. "_H-hai_...I...I couldn't remember, but then...I thought...he said he loved me, and...I...I...I called him 'Law-Chan' and...he didn't...he didn't say that Ace and I were...and..."

As Robin drew Emma into a hug, and Georgia looked confused, Nami stood up, looking annoyed.

She turned and walked out of the room, walking down the hallway and down the stairs. She walked across the dining room, to where the pirates and a few random customers were helping the chefs clear up after the dragon's attack.

She marched right up to Law, who half-turned. Nami drew back her fist, and punched him in the face as hard as she possibly could.

A few people gasped in shock, as Law stumbled back, clutching a bloodied nose, and a few people gasped.

"Captain!" Shachi and Penguin cried.

"Why did you do that?" Bepo asked Nami.

"I'll tell you why!" Nami shouted, looking furious. "Trafalgar Law, you do _not_ tell a girl with amnesia that you love her! You deliberately took advantage of Emma that way!"

Everybody else looked shocked, except for Ace, whose face had darkened, and Zeff, who just shook his head.

Law looked calmly back at Nami. "She kissed me, not the other way around."

Nami glared back at him. "If we didn't need you right now, then I'd have the guys throw you in after Doflamingo!" She told him. "Do you even _care_ what this is _doing_ to Emma? She's got enough to worry about, without you and Ace fighting over her!"

"So what do you want me to do?" Law asked casually. "Lie?"

"_I want you to stay away from her_." It wasn't just Nami who had spoken - it was Ace, as well. The Whitebeard Pirate was glaring at Law, his fists clenched, and fire dancing around his wrists.

Law switched his gaze to Ace. "You know I can't do that." He said, as the blood dripped down his face - he had to admit, that Nami had a strong right hook. "Anymore than what _you_ can."

"She's _my_ fiancee." Ace reminded him, taking a step forwards. "Most people here will support me, not you, Trafalgar."

"Would you like to test that theory, Fire-Fist?" Law challenged him, also taking a step forwards, just as somebody appeared between them, one hand out on either side of her. Her long red hair swung out around her, and her scarlet eyes burned, but she spoke calmly.

"You two seem to attract trouble and attention wherever you go." She said, her red lips smirking slightly. "I don't know _how_ that young lady puts up with all this."

"Fox-San!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Moonbay Fox!" Sanji exclaimed. Zeff watched, rolling his eyes, as his former apprentice dashed over to the beautiful women, with hearts in his eyes just about.

Sugar suddenly appeared as well, hugging Nami around the waist. "Nami!" She exclaimed.

"What are you guys doing here?" Usopp asked.

"Well, we came here to follow up a report on a red-haired girl that kicked a noble girl in the stomach yesterday." Fox replied, and a few of the chefs cringed.

"People said that it's Emma!" Sugar added, looking around. "So, Tashigi-Nee-Chan's coming!"

It was Zoro's turn to cringe. "Oh great, not her again - how does she keep finding us?!"

"Jeez, I wonder." Usopp said sarcastically, narrowing his eyes.

Fox raised her voice. "The Marines are on their way here, so anybody in trouble with the World Government had better clear out - they're coming in from the east, so I suggest heading north-west, towards the Gecko Islands."

The random pirates in the restaurant nodded, tossing down their brooms and making a break for the exit.

Fox turned to Luffy. "Mostly, they're coming for you and your friends, so you'd better leave, too."

Luffy nodded seriously. "Sure. Nami, go and get Emmy and..."

"It's okay, they're here." Nami replied, as Emma, Robin and Georgia came down the staircase.

Emma pointedly didn't look at either Ace or Law, and instead walked over to Zeff, and said: "Chef Zeff, thank you for putting up with us over these last few days. I wish that we could stay for longer, but we can't."

"I thank my lucky stars for that, kid." Zeff replied.

"And, also, well...thanks for saving me." Emma added, and then hugged him. "You're not so bad, for an old geezer. Take care of this place, I really liked it here. It's no wonder Sanji-Kun is such a great chef!"

Zeff blinked, as Sanji grinned, and then Chopper cried: "I can see the Marines!"

"Time to ship out, _minna_!" Luffy declared, throwing down his broom. "Come on! Our next stop is that island that Zoro said!"

"Shimotsuki Village, you _baka_!" Nami scolded him, as they hurried for the exit. "We're going there to find a portal to another world, so _don't_ treat it lightly!"

That stopped Emma. "Wait...we're...what?" She pointed at Georgia. "And, why is _she_ here?"

"We'll explain later, Nee-Chan!" Franky said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the exit. "For now, let's vamoose!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. I...hate this chapter. Seriously. I'm sorry it's so disjointed.**

**. TAFE's back on, and I'm tired - that's why this update's so late. :(**

**. The song at the start is Breakeven, by The Script. O o O youtu . be / kYt2PcTT1 - 8**

**. Doctor Jones, by Aqua (I love this song). O o O youtu . be / wmTaXHB6yyk**

**. Starless Night, by Olivia Lufkin. O o O youtu . be / BWpZgTCL8B4**

* * *

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - yes, curse Doflamingo. Is he really dead right now? Only time will tell. Garp got catapulted onto the Marines' ship, along with Coby. ^^_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - me either. Emma's going to love her tattoo, naturally. ^^ And, now, Ace and Law will hate each other even _more_, but what about Emma? Only time will tell! (i love saying that.)_

_WindWhistle21 - don't worry, she's used to it. And, trust me, she's going to appreciate the tattoo in no time at all! You'll see!_

_MsWildLuck - Ace has fictional licence to do as he pleases. This chapter had a major plot twist in it, I think. Thanks for the review! :D_

_Shibo . Hikari . Ookami - *watches as Boa Hancock dives into the room with Justin Beiber and sixteen mongooses (mongeese?).* Aww, don't worry about Doflamingo's Spanish side, that's not Spain's fault. :) Thanks for reviewing! XD_

_Cocoa Liddell - yay, matching tattoos! Of course, now things are going to get _worse _for her, instead of better! *Shakes head* That's what she gets for falling in love with _two_ guys but, like I said, that reason will all be revealed, very soon. ^^_


	24. Boom-Shakalaka

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Parental-Warning:**

**. This chapter contains infrequent course language.**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Boom-Shakalaka

* * *

"Emma, are you _sure_ you're okay?" Chopper asked her.

Emma sighed. "Chopper, I don't want to talk about my complicated relationships right now."

"No, I mean your head - you're lucky that those two knocks didn't kill you." Chopper pointed out.

"Oh." Emma nodded. "Right. Yeah, I'm fine - Law-Cha...I mean, I got given some pain killers this morning, so I'm fine."

Chopper nodded, and left her alone - he could tell from the tone of her voice that she wanted to be by herself.

Georgia, unfortunately, didn't get the message, or else she just didn't care.

She came and sat down on the grass in front of Emma, who was sitting on the swing, and said: "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Emma asked, not making eye-contact - she still wasn't sure if she could trust Georgia or not.

"About your quest." Georgia said.

"What would _you_ know about our quest?" Emma glanced at her. "What did Faith tell you?"

"It's not what Faith told me." Georgia shook her head. "It's what the Government is doing. That Akainu guy?" Emma nodded. "Who, by the way, is a fucking bastard." Emma was a bit taken aback for a second, before she smiled slightly - Georgia certainly hadn't changed. "Well, he was saying that Vivi - you know, the Princess of Arabasta? She's gone missing, but she's been sighted at various places in the East Blue."

"Have they been hunting her this entire time?" Emma wanted to know, sounding worried.

Georgia nodded. "Yeah - they're pretty sure that she's the Princess that _you_ guys have been searching for, so they're trying to get her first. That way, you guys can't harness that ancient power thing."

Emma gasped. "That's terrible! Poor Vivi-Sama..."

"Okay, _what_ does -Sama mean, anyway?" Georgia asked, rolling her eyes. "And -Chan and -San and -Kun and all that?"

"You didn't ask Google?" Emma blinked. "I thought you did some research before coming here...?"

"I was a bit busy finding out about Monkey D. Luffy and this weirdo crew!" Georgia rolled her eyes.

Emma grinned. "Yes, well, they _are_ a bit strange, aren't they?"

Georgia shrugged, but chanced a smile. "Yeah, whatever. So, those suffixes?"

"They're honorifics." Emma replied. "-Sama is a respectful one and, well, Vivi's a Princess, so...yeah. -Chan is a cutesy one. -San is standard. -Kun is for boys."

Georgia nodded. "Makes sense. I've been wondering why the Hell that cook keeps on calling me -Chwan all the time."

Emma giggled. "Yeah, Sanji-Kun's like that - I think he uses -San or -Swan for Nami because he likes her the best." She added.

"You're such an expert on relationships?" Georgia raised an eyebrow, and Emma blushed. Georgia sighed. "So, tell me, what _is_ going on between you and those two guys? Portgas D. Ace and Trafalgar Law, right? They both like you, or you both like them, or...?"

"I...I don't know." Emma muttered, staring down at her hands. "I mean...I _know_, they both like me...Ace-Chan proposed to me (sort of) but Law-Chan said he wouldn't give up, and I don't know what to do..."

"Well, which of them do you like the best?" Georgia wanted to know.

"Both of them." Emma mumbled.

"Ah." Georgia nodded. "Like Kelsey and the Princes from Tiger's Curse?"

"You read that?" Emma sounded surprised.

Georgia nodded again. "Sure. So, my next question is - which of them do you _love_?" Emma didn't say anything, as she swallowed, and stared down at her hands. Georgia went on: "Because, that black sea dragon thingie, Yin I think her name was, said that you loved _both_ of them - she said that you'd find out why, soon enough."

"Hmm..." Emma stared up at the sky, and then said: "Georgia...do you...have a boyfriend?"

"Yes." Georgia replied, playing with a few blades of grass. "Back home..." She added, almost wistfully.

"Have you ever had a really big fight with him?" Emma asked. "Like, you weren't talking to him _at_ _all_?"_  
_

"You mean like you're not talking to Ace and Law?" Georgia asked, and Emma nodded. Georgia sighed. "No but, then again, Reagan and I have known each other since we were little kids."

Emma looked at her. "Really? Wow, that's so cool. I'm jealous."

Georgia rolled her eyes. "Don't be - he's a wimp. I could always beat him up when we were kids."

"Georgia, next to you, _anybody_ looks like a wimp." Emma pointed out, and the two girls laughed.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, broken only by Georgia saying: "Emma, seriously, ignoring the problem _won't_ make it go away. You need to take control."

"Hn."

* * *

"Marine ship off the starboard side!"

"You'd think they'd have learned by now not to attack us." Sumi said, as she and Marco stepped up onto the railing of the Moby Dick. "It _never_ ends well - for them, that is."

"Confident, aren't we, yoi?" Marco smiled at her, as the two of them unfurled their wings, and flew towards the ship.

"Just enjoying my work, Marco." She replied, before arcing towards the right, and Marco went left.

The Marines fired on them, but the two Mythical Zoans just dodged.

As Marco unleashed a wave of fire at the Marines who were shooting at them, Sumi angled her body downwards, towards the sea, and veered up at the last second, skimming along the top of the waves.

"_Tenshi No_..." She shouted, as wind whipped around her, and she tucked her arms and wings in. "_Gyorai_!" She hit the side of the Marine ship at full speed, and the strength and speed of her attack tore a hole in the side of the ship. She burst into the cargo hold, smiling calmly as the Marines in there froze, and then water started pouring in. Sumi ran, dodging past Marines, and ran up a flight of stairs, looking for a second weak spot in the ship.

Before she could find it, however, she saw something that made her stop. "What the...?"

There, chained to the wall of the ship, and looking weak, was a young woman with blonde hair, that fell across her face as she looked up. "..."

"_Kaya-Chan_!" Sumi gasped, just as the ship rocked, due to the water pouring into it from the outside. Sumi gritted her teeth, and then ran to Kaya, destroying the chains binding her to the wall with one punch, her Zoan powers increasing her strength tenfold. Kaya couldn't seem to speak, as Sumi picked her up easily, and the young doctor wrapped her arms around the nurse's neck. "Just hold on, Kaya-Chan." Sumi mumbled, kicking aside a random Marine as she ran for the stairs. The angel burst out onto the deck, and immediately unfurled her wings, leaping into the sky as bullets flew all around them.

Marco was waiting for her in the sky, and did a slight double-take at the sight of Kaya, before he and Sumi glanced back down at the doomed ship.

"Kaya-Chan, is there anybody else onboard the ship?" Sumi asked the injured girl.

Kaya understood what she meant - was there anybody else who was _innocent_ onboard the ship. She shook her head, unable to speak.

Marco and Sumi exchanged a glance. They nodded.

"_Hakai No Aohono_!"

"_Tenshi-Fū_!"

Blue flames, fuelled by the power of the air around them directed into one spot by Sumi's powers, barrelled down in a twister towards the ship and, in a second, there was nothing left of it.

Kaya looked shocked, as Sumi and Marco flew with her back to the Moby Dick, and she tried to speak. "Y...ou...tho...se...pe...pe..."

"The people who were onboard?" Sumi asked her, and Kaya nodded. "We're pirates, Kaya-Chan. It's what we do." _I just wish I knew what the Government was doing_...

* * *

"We should reach the island in the next day or so." Nami said, consulting her maps. "God, it's nice to be able to use these things again - I missed them." She hugged a bunch of rolled up maps to her chest.

"So what's this place like, Zoro?" Usopp wanted to know, and Zoro glanced at him, before sighing.

"It's a quiet place." He said. "It's very peaceful."

"Like Syrup Village?" Usopp asked, just as Emma's Baby Den-Den Mushi (wearing bandages after its encounter with Doflamingo a week ago) rang.

She answered it. "_Moshi-Moshi_?"_  
_

"Emma-Chan?"

"Sumi-Chan!" Emma cried, sitting up and nearly upsetting her cup of coffee. "Where are you?! I've tried to ring you!"

"I have some news." Sumi said.

"So do I." Emma replied. "You go first."

"No, you." Sumi said.

Emma grinned. "Okay, but I warn you..." Her smile faded. "You might not like it..."

"Emma, what is it, yoi?" Marco was there, too.

"Well..." Emma glanced at everybody (Usopp, Zoro, Nami, Sanji and Johnny, who were enjoying drinks in the dining room), and they were looking at her. "You see...I found out..._Oyaji's_ daughter?"

"What about her?" Sumi and Marco asked at the same time.

"She's still alive."

"WHAT?!" Screamed about twenty voices, and Emma realised that the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates must be listening. There was a sudden scuffle for the Den-Den Mushi, which Emma suddenly envisioned being bounced upon many hands trying to grab for it, before a new voice spoke up.

"Give me the Den-Den Mushi."

"Here, _Oyaji_." Sumi said, and Emma gulped.

"Emma?"

"_O-Oyaji_..." Emma stammered. "H-hello...umm...you...heard all of that?"

"_Hai_." Whitebeard sounded serious. "Where did you get this information from?"

"Umm...the necklace I borrowed from my c-cousin..." Emma said, her voice shaking. "It...transported me...to a place, when I was sl-sleeping...and, Akainu was there...he...he said...he told Ino that she was a t-traitor, because your daughter is still alive."

"It's true." A voice said from behind Emma, and she turned to see Georgia standing there. "I was there, and I heard Akainu say it. He punched the woman across the face, as well."

Emma heard Sumi gasp.

Whitebeard said: "Emma, who is that?"

"Her name's Georgia." Emma replied, glancing at the other red-head. "She...she's that classmate, from my w-world, but she's on our side now, _Oyaji_. She...she's gonna help us find our next Ally, b-because we have to go to another world to do it." Even though she was stammering, she suddenly felt very comfortable telling Whitebeard everything that had been happening up until now. "Oh! _Oyaji_! I need to tell you something!"

"What is it?"

"Umm, well," Emma smiled slightly, feeling shy all of a sudden. "I...when I got captured...by the _Shichibukai_, Doflamingo, he...he tattooed me with his mark, but I...I didn't want it, so Ace-Chan fixed it up for me, and s-somehow made it into _your_ mark...is that okay?! Am I allowed to wear your mark, _Oyaji_?!" She asked him.

"Emma..." Whitebeard began, but Sumi cut him off.

"Emma-Chan, that's _great_!" She yelled. "You're one of us now!"

Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji glanced sharply at Emma, who cringed. "Umm, well...we'll see...Sumi-Chan, I need to tell you something."

"Well, aren't you just a well of information today, Emma?" Georgia rolled her eyes, and sat down. "Sanji, get me a glass of lemonade."

"With pleasure, Georgia-Chan!"

"What is it, Emma-Chan?" Sumi asked her.

"Umm...about Akainu...umm..." Emma nervously swallowed. "Umm...did you know...who he is?"

"...no." Sumi sounded genuinely confused. "What about him?"

Emma exchanged a panicked look with Nami. Sumi didn't know! "Umm..." Ace chose that moment to enter the dining room. "I...umm...can I tell you later, Sumi-Chan?"

_Chicken_. Nami thought, rolling her eyes.

"Okay." Sumi still sounded confused. "If it's Akainu, then it can't be _too_ important. Anyway, Usopp?"

"Huh?" The sniper looked up at the mention of his name.

"Somebody here wants to say hello to you." Sumi giggled, and there was a pause.

Then, a new voice said: "Umm, Usopp?"

"_Kaya_?!" Usopp gasped, sitting up straight. "What are _you_ doing on Whitebeard's ship?!"

"The Marines captured me, Usopp." Kaya said quietly, and everybody froze. "They're...trying to find all of the girls connected to you and your crew-mates...to find the Princess..."

Usopp had paled, and everybody else was exchanging horrified glances.

"It's okay, Kaya, you'll be fine." Usopp said, taking the Baby Den-Den Mushi into the corner of the room, and everybody left him alone to talk to Kaya in private (then again, the entire Whitebeard crew was probably listening in, as well).

They all went above deck, and split up, leaving Emma and Ace.

"Emiko..." Ace said, taking a step towards her. They had barely spoken two words to each other since the incident at the Baratie. Sentences like 'please pass the butter' and 'do you know where Franky is?' were _not_ deep and meaningful conversations between fiance and fiancee.

"Ace-Chan...I'm so sorry..." Emma said, her heart pounding, and she wouldn't look at him.

That stopped him. "What for?" He asked her.

"For..." Emma rubbed the side of her arm. "For...not remembering you...for kissing Law-Ch...somebody else..." She swallowed, and tears filled her eyes. "I'm so sorry..."

"Oh, jeez..." Ace rubbed the back of his head. They seemed to have reached a critical point in their relationship. "Emiko...it's okay...you didn't remember..."

"That's just the thing..." Emma muttered. "How could I...forget? About you...about _us_? About how much you mean to me? This mark on my back...it doesn't just symbolise the Whitebeard Pirates. To me, it symbolises _us_. Our bond...it's something that I _never_ want to forget. Even if, one day, we're separated, by some act of the gods or whatever...I never want to forget you, even if the memories cause me pain because we're apart. Because..." She turned to him, as the golden glow of the setting sun covered them in its soft light. "One day, I would hope, that by holding onto that, I'd overcome the pain. My memories are precious to me. Each and every single one of them. I'll never forget you again, Ace-Chan." She smiled, her lopsided smile. "I love you."

Ace stared at her for a second, before he lunged at her, grabbing her in his arms and kissing her for all it was worth. He stopped only long enough to tell her: "I am _never_ letting you go, _ever_ again!" He slipped the ring back onto her finger, before returning his lips to hers. They had a lot of catching up to do.

* * *

Emma and Ace took the night-watch, partially because it was Ace's turn to do so, and partially because Nami _forbade_ either of them to sleep in the same bed if it was in the men's quarters or the women's quarters, so Georgia took Emma's bed, and Emma cuddled up to Ace in the crow's nest.

Nami didn't have anything to worry about, though. Robin, who had agreed to keep an eye on the two for a little while, soon reported back that Ace had fallen asleep, which shouldn't really have surprised any of them. So, one-by-one, the others fell off to sleep until, at last, only three people onboard the ship were actually awake.

Franky steered the ship, following Nami's course, but ready to wake her up if he needed to - he didn't think he'd have to, though, since he knew what he was doing.

Emma smiled, sipping on her coffee, as Ace slept peacefully beside her, and she listened to her I-Pod, which Georgia had given back to her, along with her wallet (when she got her hands on Garp, who had provided the Marines with her driver's licence photo for her Wanted poster, she was going to throttle him).

She hummed along to _Ryuusei_, and then she started singing softly.

She didn't realise that she had an audience until she looked up - and saw Law standing there, looking across at her from the opposite side of the crow's nest.

Emma's eyes widened, and she glanced at Ace who, thankfully, was still asleep - for now.

Emma got up carefully, and walked slowly towards him, the darkness of the night illuminating them with blue.

"What are you _doing_ here?" She asked him softly, when she was a few feet away from him.

"You know." Law said, folding his arms.

Emma swallowed. "Do I?" She sighed. "Law-Ch...what _is_ it that you _want_?"

"_You_." He said, looking right at her. She stared back at him, an unreadable expression on her face. "I want _you_. I have since the moment I saw you. Remember? In your room, when I was a cat? I jumped onto your shoulder. I couldn't help it - I just _had_ to touch you, and I don't know _why_."

Emma's throat was dry, her hands held limply at her sides - the I-Pod was held loosely in her hand, and the earphones dangled from it, playing _I Want You_, by Faith Hill. "L...Law..." She closed her eyes, feeling slightly faint. "Law-Chan...I...I don't know...what I'm supposed to say...to you..."

"Say you'll be mine." Law said, calmly but, when Emma opened her eyes, she saw a fair amount of want in his eyes. "Emiko, please...I _need_ you..."

Emma felt even _more_ faint now, as Law used Ace's special nickname for her. _Now_ she was in a whole lot of trouble. Yin had said that it was _okay_ to love two people, but Georgia said that she should just choose one! Not only that but, if the fan-girls found out about it, then she would be labelled a real-life Mary-Sue...heck, she probably even _was_ one, _already_!

But, even as she drew this conclusion, that perhaps she was not meant to have this at all, she felt something tugging at her chest - that same tugging that had pulled her in the right directions before. And, when she looked into Law's grey eyes, the tugging feeling was intensified.

_I can't ignore this feeling..._ Emma thought, blinking a few times as she swallowed. Her fingers numbly stopped her I-Pod from playing - it _really_ wasn't helping. _I can't...right or wrong, Mary-Sue or not...this _is_ what's happening...I always thought...this sort of thing doesn't _happen_, but...it would be _worse_ for me if I tried to pretend that it _wasn't_...maybe...maybe _that's_ what Georgia meant..._

She took a closer look at Law, trying to place the tugging in her chest.

'This child...she's been blessed by the gods, hasn't she?'

Emma gasped, and looked around, trying to figure out _why_ she kept on hearing that voice in the back of her mind.

"What is it?" Law asked her, taking a step closer to her.

"I heard that voice again..." Emma whispered, placing her I-Pod on a nearby table, and leaning against said table, frowning slightly. "It was Rouge, I'm sure of it...she said something about 'the child being blessed by the gods'..."

"Emiko..." Law began, reaching out to her but, just then, a hand grabbed his wrist, tightly.

Ace had woken up, and the expression on his face could've burned a hole through sheet metal.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do, then?" Vista asked Sumi.

"Well..." The blonde began, and then she sighed.

Vista, Marco, Kaya, Nojiko and Whitebeard all looked at her sympathetically.

They were sitting up on deck, discussing the events of things.

"Umm..." Kaya said quietly, and they all glanced at her. She looked nervous, and Sumi immediately softened her glance - poor Kaya must've felt like such an outsider, but she was now as involved in this as the rest of them. "S-Sumi...do...you know where your Mother is being held prisoner?" She wanted to know.

Sumi nodded. "_Hai_ - it's Dawn Island, according to the information Haruta was able to get for us."

Kaya blinked. "Umm, well...it's just that...Usopp happened to mention something about that place...it's where Luffy and Ace grew up, isn't it?"

"Is it?" Sumi looked surprised. "I didn't know that - I only went there...once..." She glanced aside, remembering that darker time, when she'd been Jalmack's slave. For her, going back there would be painful, but she was going to do it, anyway. She had questions.

"Well...I heard Luffy say..." Kaya said. "That...there was a woman on the island, who took care of him when he was little...she owned a bar. Her name is Makino."

The others exchanged a glance, realising what this could mean.

"Then...she's in danger." Nojiko realised. "_That's_ why the Government tried to capture me before, after all, and you too, Kaya..." She glanced at the blonde, who nodded.

"Mmhmm..." Sumi mused, and then looked up at Whitebeard. "_Oyaji_, what should we do?" She stood up, and walked along the railing towards him, staring up at him with her suddenly determined teal eyes. "I want to see my Mother...I _have_ to ask her things and, if...if your daughter really _is_ still alive..." She finished in a whisper. "Then I have to know what happened..."

"Sumi," Whitebeard said gently. "I know that you still blame yourself for what Ino did. My dearest daughter - it is _not_ your fault." He gazed steadily down at her. "But, if you wish to see your Mother, then we will go to Dawn Island, as was planned. I heard Ace mention this Makino once, as well - we should check to make sure she is alright."

Sumi nodded. "Thank you, _Oyaji_."

Whitebeard smiled slightly, and then turned his gaze to the sky - the moon was waning, and it would soon be a new moon. Like on that night, twenty-two years ago...

* * *

Nami yawned, and walked up onto the deck, keeping a robe wrapped around her, because it was cold. "Franky, how's everything going?" She asked, going up to the blue-haired cyborg. "I got a feeling..."

"You were right, Nami-Nee-Chan!" Franky grinned. "We're about to make landfall! Suuuuper, isn't it?!" He posed.

Nami blinked, and rubbed her eyes. "Yes, it sure is, but...that was awfully quick, wasn't it?" She wondered.

Franky agreed. "_Hai_, but we managed to catch a good north-easterly breeze, so we can pin it down to that!"

Nami shrugged. "I suppose..." _Things are getting a bit weird, lately..._

They both heard footsteps, and turned, to see Georgia standing there, looking sleepy. "Hey, Nami," she said. "Get up to the crow's nest - Robin says there's a problem."

Nami cringed. "It's not Emma and Ace, is it?" _Not on _this_ ship, they don't!_

Georgia nodded. "And Law." She added.

Nami gasped. "What?! _All three_ of them?!" She was horrified.

Georgia shrugged. "You'd better hurry up - Robin says that it's getting kind of messy up there, or it's _about_ to, anyway. Ace and Law are at it, and Emma's caught between them."

Nami was pale. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"

Georgia gave her an odd look. "I mean they're arguing, and about to start throwing punches - Ace and Law, that is." She raised an eyebrow. "What did _you_ think I meant?"

Nami was face-palming, although she instantly relaxed. "Oh, never mind...Georgia, wake the rest of the crew." She headed towards the crows nest.

Georgia and Franky watched her go.

"What's with _her_?" Georgia asked the cyborg,

Franky shrugged. "No idea. But, we're about to reach land! It's _suuuuper_!"

_This place is weird._ Georgia decided, as she turned to go and wake up the others.

* * *

Nami stormed up to the crows nest, throwing the door open so hard that it nearly bounced off its hinges, and the three that were up there looked over at her.

Nami stopped, and stared.

Emma was standing, with her arms crossed, in the middle of the crows nest. Red and gold ribbons were snaking out of her arms and back, making her look like a many-tentacled alien. Many of the ribbons were wrapped around Ace and Law, binding their wrists and ankles, and wrapped around their mouths.

Nami blinked, and then looked at Emma.

Emma said: "I am tired. I have a headache. I want _nothing_ more than to curl up in a pile of blankets and cushions, and _fall_ _asleep_. I want to be able to _do_ that, without worrying about the two men I love _killing_ each other!" She threw her arms up, and the ribbons tossed Ace and Law onto opposite sides of the room. They landed gracefully, and straightened up, looking warily at Emma. Her ribbons waved threateningly around her. "Yes, I _love_ them both! I won't deny it, and I don't _know_ how to choose! So, right now, I'm not _going_ to! I'm going to go and asleep with the fishes!" She grabbed her I-Pod. "And by that, I mean in the aquarium dining room!"

"Well duh." Nami rolled her eyes, as Emma vanished in a swirl of ribbons, and then the navigator glared at both Law and Ace. "You two..." She said, in a slow and measured voice. Ace looked wary, but Law looked calm. "You have _one_ more chance..._ONE_." She held up one finger, to emphasise this point. "We're about to make landfall, and if there's _any_ more trouble, then _that's_ _it_!" She clenched her fists. "There's only so much one girl can take! I can understand that she loves the both of you! I really can! But look at this from _her_ point of view, _please_!" She sighed. "You two work _really_ well together, during battles - that's what she told me, and I agree. You should stop fighting, and be friends or, at the very least _just_ _stop_ _fighting_." She turned to go. "Otherwise, Luffy said he's not going to be able to deal with it much longer. He told me that this morning." It was true - Luffy had approached Nami on this very serious matter, much to her surprise. "One of you will _have_ to go, and we _all_ know who that will be. Emma won't like it if _either_ of you two go, so, for her sake, _please_ just call a truce." She exited the room, closing the door behind her, but she stayed where she was, paused, and put one ear to the door.

There was silence for a moment, and then Ace said: "Much as I'd like to get rid of you, Trafalgar, I have to agree with Nami - Emiko would be upset."

"I know." Law replied. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Neither do I." Nami pictured Ace crossing his arms, and staring defiantly at the doctor. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I don't particularly _want_ to call a truce with you, Fire-Fist." Law replied. Nami imagined that he would have his hands in his pockets, and that his grey eyes would be staring coolly at Ace. "I consider you to be my enemy as much as Doflamingo."

"And _I_ consider you to be _my_ enemy as much as Blackbeard." Ace replied coolly.

_Owch_. Nami thought, flinching.

"However," Ace went on. "We have a mission to complete and, whether we like it or not, we're Allies."

"It's a business acquaintance." Law corrected him. "We both share a common objective - which is helping Emiko to save the worlds. Putting our feelings aside, for now, can we agree to do what's best for her by getting along enough so that I don't get kicked out?"

"Only until we finish our mission." Ace replied. "After that..."

"May the best man win." Law finished for him.

"I plan to." Ace informed him.

Nami heard the smirk in Law's voice when he replied: "As do I."

Nami waited, and heard nothing but silence. She suddenly envisioned them shaking hands on their truce, and trying to break each others' fingers. _Boys_. She thought, rolling her eyes as she left them to it._  
_

* * *

"I'm sorry, Nami." Emma told the navigator, as they walked away from the shore and towards the forest-y, mountainous area.

"For what?" Nami blinked. "You mean snapping at us all earlier? Forget about it." She paused, and then added: "Of course, if you wanted to _compensate_ me for the whole scenario..."_  
_

"Forget it." Emma replied, and then Usopp stepped up to walk between them.

"Nami, Emma, tell me something..." The sniper said. "Is it _really_ okay to be following _Zoro_?"

"I should bloody well _hope_ so." Georgia spoke up, overhearing. She was walking a few paces behind them, along with Franky.

Robin, Luffy and Ace were walking up ahead, and Zoro was in the lead. Just behind him was Sanji, and next to the cook was Chopper, who was in his Walking Form, and carrying all of their supplies for them. Law walked behind the whole group.

Emma dropped back to talk to him. "Hey, Law-Chan, about your crew..." She said, walking backwards.

"What about them?" Law asked, and then noticed that she was looking behind him. He followed her gaze, and saw Shachi, Penguin and Bepo following them. Law stopped, as did Emma, and as did the Straw Hat Pirates and Ace. Law calmly regarded the three members of his crew. "I thought I told you to stay in the sub."

"Ah, _hai_, C-Captain," Shachi stammered. "But...it's just that..." He glanced at Penguin, and then nudged him forwards. "Penguin will tell you."

Penguin looked shocked, and then stammered: "Uh, well...you see..." He glanced at Bepo, and then pushed him forwards, so hard that the bear fell onto all fours. "Bepo, tell him!"

"I'm _so_ sorry, Captain!" Bepo wailed. "We've just been stuck on the sub for so long - we're getting cabin fever!"

Law raised an eyebrow, and that was when Emma decided to intervene. She shot forwards, as Bepo sat up, and latched herself onto the bear, hugging him around the neck. "Aww, he's right - they _never_ get to come on adventures with us, Law-Chan! Let them come with us, _pleeeaaase_?"

The others watched, and waited to see what Law would do.

Law sighed. "Fine. They can come with us."

"_Yay_!" Emma cheered, hugging Bepo tightly, before she noticed something on the bear's jumpsuit, and shrieked, leaping up and landing in Law's arms. "Eek!" She pointed at something on Bepo's shoulder. "Kill it, kill it, kill it!" Bepo looked depressed. "No, not _you_, the centipede on your shoulder!" Emma cried. "Kill it - it's _orange_!"

A few of the others were laughing at Emma's fear of a tiny insect, as Shachi merely flicked the thing off of Bepo's shoulder, and into the bushes.

"I'm surprised you could see that, you know." Nami said dryly. "Considering your eyesight, and the fact that it was _blending_ _in_..."

"Yeah, well, be thankful that it wasn't in your _hair_, Nami." Emma replied, just as dryly. Then: "Okay, Law-Chan, time to put me down now."

A few of the others exchanged glances at Emma's nickname for Law, but didn't say anything on the subject because, just then, it was Nami's turn to shriek.

"_Now_ what?" Usopp sounded annoyed.

"Zoro's gone!" Nami pointed ahead and, sure enough, the green-haired swordsman was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, well that's just _great_!" Usopp complained. "I _knew_ that it was a bad idea to let him lead us!"

"Okay, calm down, everybody." Georgia said. "This is a straight path, so let's just keep on going and, hopefully, there won't be any turns or anything, okay?"

The others exchanged glances, and then nodded.

They continued walking, with Emma walking at the back now, chatting to Law, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo. She was telling them about her thyroid cancer, and then about what she'd witnessed with her grandparents' cancers, as they reached Shimotsuki Village.

* * *

"Okay..." Sanji looked around him. "This is..._quaint_..."

"_Sanji_..." Nami said witheringly, glad that Zoro wasn't around to hear.

"I hope there's at least some pretty ladies here." Sanji, Penguin and Shachi said in unison, causing three out of the four girls present to glare at them.

"Okay," Luffy said, taking charge. "We need to find somewhere to eat, and then we need to find Zoro."

Nami whacked him upside the head. "_Baka_! We need to find Zoro, _then_ we need to find somewhere to eat!"

Luffy rubbed the back of his head. "Ow, Nami...that hurt..."

"_Good_!" She snapped, and then she sighed. "Okay, so why don't we...?"

"Split up?" Georgia suggested. "Great idea - I've got some stuff to do, anyway!" She hightailed it out of there.

The others watched her go.

"I don't trust her." Nami said.

"It _is_ possible that she means to betray us." Robin commented. She began walking. "I'll follow her for a little while, and see what's up to."

"Wait for me, Robin-Chwan!" Sanji dashed after her.

"I need to get some supplies." Chopper spoke up. "We _definitely_ need more anaesthetic, after all."

"I agree." Law nodded. "I'll come with you." He glanced at Emma, who was talking to Bepo, Shachi and Penguin, and emphasising a point by extending her arms - it was an animated explanation.

Law watched as Emma laughed with the three of them, and he smiled as he turned to go. Just as he did, Emma glanced up at him, blinking, before she smiled at him, and waved slightly.

He just smirked, and nodded to her, before he kept on walking.

"I need to get some things, as well." Nami said.

Franky nodded. "We'll look for Zoro, as well."

Luffy had other ideas, though. "That's great!" He grabbed onto his brother's arm. "Come on, Ace, let's go and find a restaurant!" He began dragging Ace away.

The Whitebeard Pirate held onto his hat as he was dragged away. "Whoa, okay, hey, slow down, Luffy!" He glanced over his shoulder, and was pleased when Emma waved to him, as well.

Nami smiled, and turned to the others. "So-" She began.

Usopp suddenly zipped over, and latched onto Emma. "I'm going with Emma!" He declared. Bepo, Shachi, Penguin and Nami just stared at him. "What? Everybody _else_ got to go on some kind of life-changing adventure with Emma."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just agree to meet back here in an hour..." The others just stared at her. She sighed. "I'll find a way to let you know. Just don't get lost!" She warned them, already knowing that she was going to have to round them all up again.

* * *

"Wow..." Luffy stared up at the sign on the restaurant. "Meat-Meat..."

"So great that they named it twice." Ace read from the sign. "Shall we try it?" He glanced at the spot where Luffy had been standing, only to find that his little brother had already commandeered the buffet table. Ace rolled his eyes, but then dove in as well, especially since it was an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet.

However, they had forgotten one, teensy-tinsy minor detail and, after they'd cleaned out the entire restaurant, they realised what that one detail was.

"Okay," the restaurant owner looked thrilled, despite being a large and very terrifying woman. "My little schnitzels, that's one hundred thousand Bellis."

Luffy and Ace froze, and then exchanged slow glances.

"Hey, Luffy..." Ace said quietly. "Did you get any money?"

Luffy shook his head. "Uh-uh. I thought _you_ got it."

"No, I didn't." Ace replied.

The two brothers nodded, and then turned back to the restaurant owner. "Thank you for this meal." They said together, bowing in unison.

They then bolted, with the restaurant owner chasing after them yelling: "GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BRATWURSTS!"

* * *

Nami sighed, and read the sign over the entrance to the dojo. "Isshin Dojo...hmm..." She said. _Looks promising..._

"Excuse me?" A voice said from behind her, and she turned to see an older gentleman, standing there with a pile of scrolls in his arms. "May I help you, Sir?"

Franky shook his head. "No, I'm just looking for somebody, but I doubt you've seen him."

"Tell me what he looks like, and perhaps I will be able to help you." The man replied.

Nami shrugged. "Well, he's about so tall," she held up a hand. "He has slightly tanned skin...oh! And his hair is green." She didn't notice the look on the man's face as she added: "His name is Roronoa Zoro." She finally noticed that the man had frozen, and then he dropped all of his scrolls. They tumbled to the ground. "Hey, are you okay?" Nami asked, hurriedly going over to help the man pick up his scrolls.

He nodded, and said: "Yes, but...may I ask that you two come inside the dojo with me? I have something I would like to speak with you about..."

"Umm...sure...okay then..." Franky and Nami replied, and followed him into the dojo.

* * *

Sanji and Robin met up with Chopper and Law, and they were soon joined by Shachi, Penguin and Bepo.

"Umm, where's Georgia?" Chopper wanted to know.

"She vanished." Robin replied calmly, although her eyes showed worry.

"I don't like this." Law said immediately. "Didn't you say that you sensed a possible betrayal, Robin?"

The archeologist nodded, and Sanji looked depressed.

"Poor Georgia-Chwan..." He said. "She's probably lost somewhere, along with that stupid swordsman..."

"Hmm..." Chopper suddenly sniffed at the air. "I think...she went _that_ was..." He pointed towards the mountains. "Her scent is wool, like a sheep...but..." He closed his eyes. "Emma and Usopp are up there as well, and...somebody with a scent like cold steel...it's familiar...it's..."

"RUN, LUFFY!" Ace's voice was suddenly heard shouting, and everybody turned to see the two brothers charging down the street, with a scary-looking woman chasing after them and brandishing butcher's knives and meat-cleavers which she seemed to be able to produce from nowhere.

"Look, there are the others!" Luffy pointed, and he and Ace headed in the direction of their friends.

Sanji's eyes widened in shock. "_No_! Don't run towards us!" He knew enough about crazy cooks to know to _never_ get on their bad sides! He started running, grabbing Robin's hand and dragging her along, and she grabbed Chopper under her arm and had multiple arms on her back carrying their supplies, Shachi and Penguin each grabbed onto one of Robin's hands, and Bepo grabbed onto their ankles as they were pulled along in mid-air, and Law sprinted after them, and then Luffy and Ace followed and, finally, the angry cook shouted angry things as she angrily ran after them all.

They were chased all throughout the town this way.

* * *

"So, I _really_ like Kaya, but I just don't think that she'll _ever_ feel the same way about me!" Usopp was saying, as he and Emma walked along the outskirts of the quiet village. Emma was listening to him, really, she was, but her mind was also on other things, as _usual_. In fact, she was so caught up in juggling multiple thoughts, thats he didn't notice that they were being followed.

"Emma," Usopp said suddenly. "I'm afraid I've been thinking..."

"A _dangerous_ past-time." Emma pointed out.

"I _know_." Usopp sighed. "It's just...hey, hang on a minute..." He stopped, and looked around, his keen ears picking up the sounds of..._something_...

"What is it?" Emma whispered, feeling scared. "Marines? Centipedes?"

"Worse." Usopp said as, suddenly, ropes came flying out of the bushes at them, binding them. "It's an ambush!"

A net came flying out of nowhere, wrapping around Emma's wrists. "Sea-Stone!" She gasped, feeling the familiar strains of weakness envelop her. "But...why...?"

Their attackers came out of hiding.

"AAAAA!" Emma and Usopp screamed in unison.

* * *

Back in the village, Law and Ace stopped, and looked sharply at the sound of the screams.

The others stopped as well.

"That sounded like Emma!" Chopper realised.

"And Usopp." Luffy added. "I wonder what happened..."

Nami suddenly came running towards them, followed by Franky. "You guys!" She shouted to them, and then she stopped. "Umm, why are you...?"

"Never mind." Ace said quickly, as most of them (save for Robin and Law) were sporting bruises and/or mild cuts. "Did you hear...?"

"Yes." Nami replied, just as quickly. "I've got a bad feeling about this, you guys."

"Aww, now why did you have to say that, Nami?" Luffy asked her. "You know I hate it when you get bad feelings."

Nami ignored him, and faced the others. "We've just been speaking to a man from this village who knows Zoro - in fact, Koshiro was the one who taught Zoro swordsmanship."

Everybody was surprised, to say the very least but, then again, they realised that it made sense.

Franky said: "So, this Koshiro guy told us that, since Zoro left, this village has been - are you ready for this?" He paused for dramtic effect, and then struck a pose, proclaiming: "_Haunted_..."

Chopper looked terrified, Luffy looked thrilled, Robin appeared mildly interested, and everybody else just stared at Franky like he'd grown a third eye or something.

At last, Shachi repeated: "Haunted?"

Nami nodded. "Mmhmm. There's been weird things happening, unexplainable things."

"What, you mean like scary sounds and dark, shadowy figures?" Penguin didn't sound like he believed her.

Nami shook her head. "No. I mean that people have been disappearing, one-by-one." That stopped everybody. "Mostly girls, but some boys as well - all of them children. They all vanish without a trace, and are never heard from again. They can't find them _anywhere_. And, well...it's been happening for months now, apparently, since..." She exchanged a glance with Franky.

"Since what?" Luffy wanted to know.

"Since Zoro left the village." Nami said quietly, and everybody was silent for a few moments, considering this.

"So, what do we do now?" Ace asked finally. "Emiko and Usopp were up there in the mountains, and if they've been taken..." He trailed off, and glanced at the setting sun.

"We can't look for them now." Nami stated, and both Ace and shot her a fierce glare.

"Don't glare at Nami-San!" Sanji snapped.

"It's alright, Sanji." Nami held up her hands. "Look, guys, we're _all_ worried, but we _can't_ go up there at night - we'll wait until morning."

"I'm not scared of ghosts." Ace stated firmly, crossing his arms.

"No!" Chopper exclaimed. "You should _never_ mess around with the supernatural!"_  
_

Nami nodded. "Chopper's right. If Emma, Usopp, Zoro and Georgia really _have_ been taken by the...spirits...then we'll need to go about getting them back _carefully_." She pointed down the road, towards the dojo. "Come back to Kojiro's place with us - he says he wants to tell us some things about Zoro's past that we didn't know."_  
_

"It sounds important." Sanji commented, as they headed off down the road. "I wonder what that moss-ball did in his past that could be effecting us now..."

"I think it's more like what he _didn't_ do." Nami replied, looking up at the dark sky. _I hope they'll all be okay..._

* * *

"Great." Usopp muttered, trying to look at something other than the awful predicament that they were in. "Captured by crazed wild pigs and sacrificed hideously before a pagan altar."

"Are we lucky or what?" Emma muttered back to him, never taking her eyes off the little pig-like gremlins that were dancing around them, and chanting..._something_...whatever it was, it sounded like cannibalism...

"Yeah, so how did you guys get captured?" Zoro wanted to know. He was tied to the post with them.

"How did _we_ get captured?!" Usopp snapped. "How did _you_ get captured, Mr. Supernova, Santoryu...Guy?!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He mocked Usopp's lack of creativity. "You need to ask me _that_?"

"Oh, what, so this is somehow _my_ fault?!" Georgia looked annoyed. "If it's _anybody's_ fault, then it's miss Four-Eyes over _there_!" And she jerked her head in the direction of the Tashigi, who was tied to a table in the center of the grove (which was lit with torches like some kind of scary episode of _Survivor_) by ropes from all four corners. She looked terrified.

"This is neither my fault, nor my idea, before you ask!" The Marine called to them. "So, as you all stand around blaming each other, which is all very well and true, _get me off of this thing_!"

A Piggie-Gremlin (as Emma had now started dubbing them) stopped dancing, and jabbed Tashigi with the tip of her spear. "_Kaeps ton od_!" She said fiercely. "_Ti tog_?"

Tashigi paled. "Help me..." She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as the Piggie-Gremlin continued with her dancing and with her chanting.

"What's she doing here, anyway?" Zoro wanted to know, and Georgia coughed slightly. Zoro turned to glare at her. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, _would_ you, Georgia?"

"No!" She snapped. "I mean...no...yes, but no!"

"Just answer the question!" Zoro told her.

Georgia sighed. "Okay, look, Garp _told_ me that this might happen - _I_ didn't ask them to come here, but I...well, you can call what I did running away." She shrugged as best she could. "They want me back, but I'm not going."

"Sounds legit." Emma nodded. She glanced over at Usopp. "Why are you shaking?" She asked the sniper. "You don't have to worry - we'll get rescued by our friends soon, I'm sure of it."

Usopp had begun to look nervous. "Well...who do you reckon's gonna get eaten first?"

Emma just stared at him for a a very long moment, before she flatly replied: "You are."

Usopp looked horrified, and began screaming, causing the Piggie-Gremlins to swarm on him. "Aaa! They're eating me alive!"

* * *

Robin glanced up briefly at the sky, and smiled.

"Why is she smiling like that?" Koshiro's wife, Sakura, asked Nami, as they unfurled two futons.

"Morbid senses." Nami replied, and Sakura looked like she didn't want to hear anymore.

They were staying at the dojo owned by Koshiro and Sakura - the boys were in one room, and the girls were in another. The room had a connecting slider door which, after Sakura had left, Nami and Robin barricaded with multiple chest-of-drawers and chairs, since there were three perverts sleeping in that other room.

The two pirate girls laid down on their futons, listening as a slight breeze made the wind-chimes outside chime.

"Robin-Nee-Chan, do you think that the others are okay?" Nami asked presently, rolling over onto her side to look at the archeologist.

Robin's gaze was calm and steady. "Yes, I believe that they will be fine, Nami-Chan." She drew the covers up to her chin, and closed her eyes. "However," she added, in a softer tone. "We best keep ourselves sharp."

Nami narrowed her eyes. _She just _had_ to say that last part now, didn't she?_

The navigator sighed, and closed her eyes, trying to sleep but, every time she started to fall asleep, she would hear a noise, and immediately be jolted awake. Eventually, she decided that sleep was not going to come to her anytime soon, and so got up, sloping a yukata on over her shoulders, and deciding to go for a walk.

The gardens however, which were peaceful in the day time, now seemed darker and more mysterious, but not in a good way. Nami found herself drawn to a particular path, and followed it deeper into the forest, until she came to a small hill overlooking the dojo. She stared at the graveyard for a second, before entering it, and finding her way to a particular headstone.

The moonlight was dim, but Nami could just make out a name written on the polished rock. "Kuina." She read out-loud. _Koshiro and Sakura's daughter?_ She wondered what had led her to this place and, just as she was envisioning hands stretching out from The Beyond, she felt a touch on her shoulder.

* * *

Ace awake with a start, after a nightmare about Emma marrying Law and having four children with him, all of them boys who sang and lived in a yellow submarine. He sat up on his futon, looking around - and that was when he noticed that both Law and Sanji were missing.

Just as he realised this, he noticed the orb of blue light hovering over Luffy's sleeping form.

"LUFFY!" Ace started to shout, just as the orb of light expanded, drawing both him and Luffy into it.

His shout, however, woke up Franky, who stared in shock as the two brothers disappeared in a flash of light. "Luffy?! Ace?!" The cyborg was stunned and, just then, there was a clatter, and Robin came into the room.

"Franky!" She began to say, sounding slightly worried but, just then, she gasped, and looked at her hands, which had started to disappear - in fact, her whole entire _body_ was starting to become transparent! "This is exceptionally strange and wonderful..." She mused, as she vanished.

"Robin!" chopper screamed, sounding horrified, and then he looked down at himself, and realised that he was vanishing, as well! "Nooo! I don't wanna go!" He protested but, of course, he had no choice. Well, if he was gonna die, then he wanted his very last words to be: "Cotton candyyyy!"

Franky was too shocked to speak, after just seeing four of his friends vanish before his eyes, and then he looked up.

There, hovering above him, was a swirling black and purple vortex. "_Oh_..." He sighed, as the portal picked him up and dragged him into its depths._  
_

In the room, Bepo, Penguin and Shachi slept on, blissfully unaware.

* * *

"Oh, it's just you, Sanji." Nami breathed a sigh of relief, pressing one hand to where her heart hammered in her chest. "And the one beside you."

_Does it ever end_? Law wondered, just as he sensed that they were being watched. Which was why he was able to duck, when the rope came flying out at him.

Of course, he probably could've warned Sanji and Nami about it, but that just wasn't his style. So, he merely watched from the bushes as they were lassoed, and then rounded up by the strangest looking creatures that any of them had ever seen.

"What the...?" Sanji gaped, as one of the Piggie-Gremlins looked up at him, and then neatly took the cigarette out of his mouth, stamping it out.

"_Sllik gnikoms_." He said flatly.

"Umm...bless you?" Sanji blinked.

Nami was being picked up by the exceptionally strong little things. "Oh no, I'm being picked up!" She realised. "Hey, let go of me, pork chops!" She cried, thrashing about angrily. "Help! Sanji!"

"Nami-Swan!" Sanji was furious. "Hey, let Nmai-Swan go! Nami-Swaaaan!" His voice faded out, as he and Nami were carried off into the darkness.

Stepping out of the bushes, Law stared into the direction that they had gone, and then nodded to himself, deciding to follow. With a little bit of luck, they would lead him to where he wanted to go.

* * *

"Don't worry, you said." Usopp said sarcastically, glaring at Emma. "We'll get _rescued_ you said." He switched his glare to Nami, Sanji, Robin, Chopper, Franky, Luffy and Ace. "Well, I dunno about you but, to _me_, this kind of looks like the _opposite_ of that!"

"Well, _excuse_ _me_ for putting my trust in _your_ cremates!" Emma snapped, and then narrowed her eyes at Luffy. "And how come _he_ gets to sleep through this?"

"Because he'll be impossible to handle if he's awake, Emiko." Ace replied calmly.

"And you're not?" She questioned.

"Touche." Ace replied, grinning, just as the Piggie-Gremlins stopped their tribal chanting, and stared up at them.

One of them, who was slightly taller than all the others, stepped forwards. "Boom-Shakalaka _fo htarw eht ecaf uoy won_." He stated, pointing a spear at them all.

"Okay, these pigs are _really_ starting to annoy me!" Nami said and, one by one, the Piggie-Gremlins gasped, and pointed their spears at Nami.

"N-Nami, don't make them angry!" Usopp whispered, terrified.

"_Sevlesruoy eraperp_!" The leader intoned.

"What...did the...little _dears_ say?" Nami asked, through gritted teeth.

"Hold on, hold on, I speak backwards." Ace spoke up and, when everybody stared at him, he said: "What? I had to find a way to communicate with Sa...with somebody without Luffy knowing what we were saying." He cleared his throat, and called: "_Sgniht krop elttil_?" They all turned to look at him. "_Boom-Shakalaka__ siht si ohw_?"

"What is he saying?" Nami whispered to Robin.

"He either said 'Boom-Shakalaka sits how?' or 'who is this Boom-Shakalaka?'." Robin replied calmly.

"And what the Hell is a 'Boom-Shakalaka'?" Usopp loudly wanted to know, earning him a jab from a nearby spear.

"I think it's a basketball term." Georgia whispered back to him.

"Oh."

Ace, when he had finished conversing in Backwards-Language with the Piggie-Gremlins, turned to the others. "Okay so, basically, we're being offered up as sacrifices..."

"I _knew_ it!" Usopp groaned, as Chopper looked terrified, and Franky began to cry very manly tears. "And, I never got to tell Kaya that I loved her!"

"i think she's going to live without that." Nami rolled her eyes.

"To their goddess, Boom-Shakalaka." Ace finished up.

"Hideously?" Emma questioned him.

"Most likely." Ace nodded.

Emma's gaze turned fierce. "Bring it on."

"Whoa!" Chopper and Usopp exclaimed. "Emma got serious!"

"It's strange, though." Robin mused, as the Piggie-Gremlins began to chant. "I don't sense any malevolency from them..."

"Really?" Usopp eyed the spears. "They sure seem pretty malevolent to _me_!"

"No, I mean that I don't believe that they're the real enemy." Robin stated. "Look at their size, and the shapes of their bodies - I think that they might actually be _humans_."

"With faces like that?" Zoro questioned, and a nearby gremlin jabbed him. "Owch! Would you cut that out?!" He snapped.

"Zoro."

The voice made him and everybody else stop, and he turned, to see that Tashigi had risen from her table, but she was also floating above it, which didn't seem normal _at_ _all_. Her eyes, which were usually blue, had turned a duller shade of brown, making Zoro's heart nearly stop.

"_Boom-Shakalaka liah lla_!" The Piggie-Gremlins chanted. "_Boom-Shakalaka liah lla_!"_  
_

"_Boom-Shakalaka liah lla_!" Ace agreed. A few of the others gave him a weird look. "Sorry, I just got caught up in the chanting."

"Who _is_ that?" Nami asked, staring the the woman. "It doesn't look like Tashigi anymore..."

"It's not." Zoro muttered, in a flat voice; his mouth had suddenly gone very dry. "It's Kuina."

"_Kuina_?" The others repeated, just as Luffy woke up.

"Huh? What's going on?" He asked, looking around him, and then over at the table. "Huh?" He repeated, just as Tashigi/Kuina raised her hands, and a sword appeared in them.

Zoro grimaced, and Nami gasped. "This is it!" She cried.

Chopper closed his eyes. "I can't look! Tell me when it's over!" He begged.

"It's over." Georgia told him, and Chopper opened his eyes, to see the woman with the sword standing right in front of them.

He shrieked. "She's not done yet!"

"Oh, I thought you meant the _main_ parts." Georgia rolled her eyes. "Silly me."

"_Boom-Shakalaka_! _Boom-Shakalaka_!" The gremlins chanted, and Ace joined in. "_Boom-Shakalaka_! _Boom-Shakalaka_!"

"Would you cut that out?!" Emma snapped.

"Hey, if you can't beat em', join em'." Ace shrugged, and then he turned serious. "Hey, Emiko, since we're gonna die in about ten seconds, anyway, I need to tell you something."

"Like what?" She asked warily, her eyes brimming with tears.

Ace grinned. "You were..."

Law suddenly came flying out of nowhere, landing in front of Emma, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her full on the mouth, just as the sword came down, and a bright white light enveloped them all.

"Now, you shall face The Test." Tashigi said, in Kuina's voice, before she too vanished.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. A short chapter - the next chapter will be what I meant to tack onto this one but, if I tried to do that, then you'd be waiting another week or so for it.**

**. Ryuusei, by TiA. OoO www . youtube watch ? v = sZveFbw1HS8**

**. So, Emma's scent is a fabric store, Georgia's is wool, and Tahsigi's is steel. ^^ Makes sense.**

* * *

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - yes, it's always nice to see problems happening to OTHER people. Nami's probably one of the only ones who can get away with punching the Surgeon Of Death - I'd like to see somebody _else_ try it! Thanks for the review! ^^_

_WindWhistle21 - lol, we're all horrible people for enjoying their suffering. OMG, I'm changing your perception of canon-characters?! That's a first! Try not to hate on Ace TOO much but, yes, Law needs some loving, too! XD_

_KaiF . Raphaella - yes, I've got at least seven assignments running at the moment. It's tough, but I can do it! *Determined* Thanks for the review!_

_Mugiwara Otome - that's so true. ^ _ ^ ; Don't worry, it's ALL a part of my master plan of doom._

_MsWildluck - thank you so much! The amnesia seemed to spark something, didn't it?_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - ha, yeah, Law CAN be kind of a jerk at times but, don't worry, he has a very good reason for it. XD Lol, Emmace...that's starting to sound very good, now. And, yeah, I could picture the scene with Patty rowing past them, randomly. :D Hmm...well, we'll see what happens when Brook shows up, aye?_

_Cocoa Liddell - Ace the hero! Sort of...and, in regards to the OC's, don't worry, they're being kept track of. *holds up check-list* thanks for the review!_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - *poses with you* Tell your heart to calm down though, okay? Then again, Law's sexiness may or may not be a problem. Yeah, the dragon came from the New World, from Punk Hazard. But...OMG, that scenario is hilarious! Somebody should do a You-Tube video of that! Get discharged from the hospital and start making me that video! Or else... - _ -_


	25. Angels And Demons

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Parental Warning - the following chapter contains:**

**. Infrequent mild coarse language**

**. Mild drug references/usage**

**. Medical procedures**

**. Adult themes**

**. Low level violence**

**. Low level sexual references**

* * *

**_-_ Warning: Long chapter is long - pity me, I had to write it. _-_**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Angels And Demons

* * *

"Ow..." Nami landed roughly on the ground but, for a second, all that she could think was: _That hurt...that must mean that I'm alive..._ With this in mind, she opened her eyes, and found herself in a cave of sorts. "Okay, a cave. I think I can handle that." She nodded to herself. She then began checking herself for any injuries, by moving her limbs. "Okay, legs, check. Neck, check. Ears, check. Tail, check." She nodded again, and stood up. "Right, now...wait...a minute." Nami froze, and looked down at her orange paws. "Oh no..." _Here we go again..._

Nami looked around her, and that was when she saw a blonde cat sprawled out over a rock, and a smaller black cat curled up in the fetal position. As she watched, the blonde cat slowly came to, and shook his head.

"Okay...where am I?" Sanji muttered.

"Sanji?" Nami called to him.

Sanji started, and then he happily cried out: "Oh, Nami-Swaaaan!" He bounded over to her, but stopped when she brought out her claws.

"Don't." She said flatly, and the blonde-haired cat had enough sense to stay back. They went over to try and wake up Luffy, only to find that their captain was contently asleep - when they tried to wake him up, he _hissed_ at them, so Sanji was forced to carry the smaller black cat on his back while they headed off in no particular direction.

Nami had no idea how to navigate her way through this strange place, which wasn't lit with light - it seemed to be lit with some sort of _grey_ light - so, they just walked, and hoped that they would find the others.

"I really thought we were dead." Nami said presently, as they continued to walk.

Sanji nodded. "So did I, but I'm glad we're not, Nami-San. I just hope that Emma-Chan, Robin-Chan, Georgia-Chan and Tashigi-Chan are okay."

"_Why_ are you calling her Tashigi-'Chan' now, Sanji?" Nami rolled her eyes. "She's our enemy, remember?"

"Oh...right..." Sanji looked sheepish.

"Your devotion to women is going to get you killed one day, Sanji," Nami scolded him. "Just like with Kalifa."

The blonde didn't say anything, as Luffy slept on.

"Still..." Nami averted her gaze. "I find it...admirable."

"Oh, Nami-Swan..."

"_Let_ me finish." She said sharply, and turned to face him. "I _don't_ want you to respond to what I'm about to tell you, Sanji." She looked firmly at him, and he stood there waiting. "But...if you can stop flirting with every girl you meet...you're going to make a girl very happy one day." She looked aside, blushing slightly.

"N-Nami-San..." Sanji was stunned. "What brought this on...?"

"I said I didn't want you to say anything!" Nami snapped, just as a white ball of light appeared behind her, and Sanji froze. "Huh?" Nami turned around and, seeing the light, she gasped, and leapt at Sanji, cuddling up against his side in fear. "It's the light!" She cried. "It's come for us!" _But, I said what I had to say, so I have no regrets!_

Sanji, however, had a different train of thought: _Nami-San's cuddled up to me...she admires me...I'm so...happy!_

Luffy just slept on, and so didn't see when the ball of light created a huge hole in the ceiling of the cave, much to Nami and Sanji's shock. The sky shone blue above them, but they were more focused on that light...

* * *

"This is so _un_super..." Franky, in his blue-cat form, stated, as he walked along.

"Just make sure you don't fall off." Usopp, who was shaking, replied, as he carefully put one paw in front of the other. "It's...it's a long way down..."

"Hmm..." Robin mused, as she peered over the edge of the clouds. "It could even be that there _is_ no land beneath us."

As Usopp looked horrified, and nearly tripped, Franky asked: "And, how do you figure _that_?"

"Well, we're in a different world, aren't we?" Robin reminded him. "We are lucky that we did not have our blood smeared across the stone table as an offering."

She continued walking, as Franky and Usopp froze, both of them thinking: _Why does she always say stuff like that?_

They then hurried to catch up with her. "Still, what did Zoro mean when he called that Marine 'Kuina'?" Franky wanted to know. "Wasn't that the girl from the village who died years ago?"

"Remember that photo that we saw of her at the dojo?" Usopp recalled. "If Kuina was older now, she'd look exactly like Tashigi, without the glasses, that is."

"That still doesn't explain why he called Tashigi 'Kuina'." Franky said.

"Actually, it does." Robin stated.

"How?" Franky wanted to know.

Robin half-smiled. "You sound as if you don't believe me."

"Well, you're supposed to be the one with all the facts." He replied.

_Jeez, they're like an old married couple._ Usopp thought and, for some odd reason, his thoughts turned to Kaya. A childhood best friend, that he almost lost. Suddenly, he couldn't imagine how Zoro must have felt, not being able to prevent Kuina's death, not being able to protect her. If Kuro had managed to kill Kaya, then...Usopp stopped walking, and stared down at his paws. He would never have been able to handle that.

Franky noticed that Usopp had stopped walking, and turned around, guessing instantly what was troubling the patchy-cat. "Hey, Usopp," Franky began walking backwards. "You're thinking about Kaya, aren't you?"

Usopp looked up, startled. "How did you...?"

"Emma." Franky said simply.

Usopp rolled his eyes, imagining Emma in his mind, saying: _I read it in a book._ He walked on, looking at Franky who was still walking backwards. "Yeah, so, what should I do? The Government went after Kaya because of _me_ - because she's _my_ friend. And, I wasn't there to protect her."

"But, she's okay now." Franky pointed out.

"Yeah, I know!" Usopp sighed. "But...that's how it is, isn't it? It's always _somebody_ _else_ who's protecting Kaya. I wonder...if it had of been Luffy, like it was before, then would _he_ have been able to protect her, the way Sumi and the Whitebeard Pirates did? I mean, I know how to talk to the talk, but Luffy can _talk_ the talk _and_ walk the walk! He has enough strength and courage to back up all his words, but me...I'm useless. I'm not strong or brave like Luffy, and Zoro, and Sanji..."_  
_

"I think that you _are_ brave, Usopp." Franky informed him.

"Shut up!" Usopp snapped. "I don't need you to patronise me!"

"I wasn't trying to." Franky replied. "Look, Usopp, maybe it's true, that you're not as strong as all of us."

_Did he really have to say _all_ of us?_ Usopp rolled his eyes, but continued to listen.

"But," Franky continued. "My mentor once said that lots of people are afraid to admit that, which is why those that _can_ are really brave. Also, you're not useless, Usopp. Someday, you'll become the Prince who will protect Kaya. Because, in your heart, there is...immense courage."

Usopp was speechless, as he absorbed what Franky had just told him.

"That's how everybody sees you, Usopp-Kun." Robin said.

"I have total confidence in you, Usopp." Franky grinned. "Super confidence!"

Robin then stopped suddenly, and added: "Oh...this is interesting."

"What is it?" Usopp asked her, and then he looked up, and his eyes widened. "_Ne_, Franky, look out!"

"Whaaa...?!" Franky had walked backwards into Robin, and together the two of them tumbled off of the cloud path.

"Aaaaaaaaa!" Usopp screamed.

* * *

Law got up slowly, carefully checking himself for injuries, before he realised that he was a cat again. Rolling his eyes, and sighing, he took a good look at his surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was that he was in a jungle, and he could hear people and the ocean. The strange thing was, however, despite the sun shining and the humidity that he could sense in the air, he didn't feel anything - he didn't feel hot or cold or even numb. He just..._was_.

As Law was just deciding that this was very, very strange, he heard a groan behind him, and turned, hoping that it wouldn't be Ace, and discovering that, of course, it was.

The other black cat looked up at him, and his eyes narrowed, before widening in recognition. "YOU!" He leapt at Law, who immediately extended his claws, and the two of them began to fight but, before they could get much further than a few scratches and some biting here and there, a call made them both stop what they were doing _immediately_.

"Ace-Chan! Law-Chan! Help!"

The two black cats looked all around them, and then up. There, tangled in brown vines above their heads, was the red and white cat. Emma.

"Emiko!" The two male cats called to her in unison, and then they exchanged a glare.

"Guys!" Emma sounded panicked. She was struggling. "One of you, quickly, try to use your Devil Fruit power!"

Ace blinked, an then focused his ability...only to find that he _couldn't_. It was still _there_, but he was unable to harness it, like he usually would have. It was as if he was no longer a Devil Fruit User...

He traded a startled glance with Law and, from the slightly concerned look in the surgeon cat's grey eyes, he knew that he was not the only one.

They both looked back up at Emma.

"We're in another world, and we can't use our powers here!" She stated the obvious. "But, please, can you help me get down from here?!"

"Don't worry, Emiko, we'll find a way!" Ace replied. "Somehow...maybe somebody will come along..." He muttered, and then noticed that Law was smirking. "_What_?"

"_Baka_." Law said bluntly, causing Ace's blood to boil. "Haven't you noticed it? Two things, actually."

"_Such_ _as_?" Ace was beginning to see the beauty in clawing out those grey eyes.

"Well, one," Law jerked his head in the direction of a group of people who were walking by. "Notice how none of them seem to notice us? Perhaps we're ghosts?"

That stopped Ace for a second and, up in the trees, Emma froze as well.

Law continued: "And, secondly, since Emiko's tangled up in the vines, it means that we can interact with _in_animate objects, at least. So, it's up to _us_ to get her down."_  
_

"Okay then, genius, _how_?" Ace asked scathingly.

Law gave him a wry look, and then sat down for a second, thinking. He looked all around him, and noticed how climbable the tree looked. He looked it up and down, judging its distance. "_Hai_..." He muttered to himself, nodding. "Okay, Firefist, get up there and use those fangs of yours for something useful - cut those vines." He ordered.

Ace just stared at him. "Oh? And while _I_ get to play the hero, what will _you_ do?"

Law's smirk grew. "Somebody's got to stay here in case she doesn't land on her feet."

Ace extended his claws. "Why you _ijōna_ little..."

"Uh, excuse me?!" Emma called, cutting him off. "The vines are about to snap on their own!"

Both Law and Ace looked up again, and realised that it was true. In half a second, the vines had snapped, and Emma was falling.

Being a cat, of course she managed to flip herself upright.

She also landed on both Ace and Law.

"That's right...nothing to see here..." Ace muttered, realising that a very interesting part of him was in contact with the area around Emma's stomach. He gulped.

Unfortunately for Ace, however, Law had managed to get a second kiss from Emma in the space of less than a day.

Emma, who was stretched out across the two cats, froze, but not for the reason that both men thought. She suddenly leapt off of them, and stared at something, gasping: "It-it _can't_ be!" She sounded distressed, and yet excited, all of a sudden and, without warning, she took of running.

Ace and Law hurried after her, in time to see her leap out of the bushes, and land in the huge hotel swimming pool.

* * *

Georgia sighed, and would have wrung her hands, but she didn't _have_ hands anymore. She had awoken to find herself in what appeared to be a church - the big stained-glass windows and the overall feel of the building being like the Temple Of Time from Zelda were a big giveaway - and as a _cat_. A chocolate-coated tortie, with whiskers and pointed ears a tail and everything.

"Okay, no longer will I say that I might have envied Emma a little bit." Georgia muttered, pacing up and down the pew she was standing on.

"Why should you envy her?" A voice said, and Georgia looked over to see Tashigi - as a _human_ - sitting on a white chair at the front of the church. In her lap was an unconscious green cat.

_Zoro?_ Georgia thought, shaking her head slightly. She noticed the compass that Emma usually always wore, now around Tashigi's neck. Only, Georgia was suddenly convinced that that _wasn't_ Tashigi...her voice had sounded different and her eyes, which were usually dark blue, were now a sort of muddy brown. The glasses which Tashigi needed to see were now in one hand - she used the other to pat the back of the green cat's neck.

Georgia carefully regarded the young woman, and then said: "Well, not _envy_ exactly...just..."

"I think I understand..." A little voice said from behind Georgia. "But, first, do you think you could help me?"

Georgia blinked, and then jumped up onto the back of the pew. Looking over, she saw a little brown cat. The blue nose and the antlers told her that it was Chopper.

She immediately reached over, and clamped her teeth around the scruff of his neck, pulling him up.

"Thank you." Chopper said shyly. He hadn't really had much to do with Georgia, and didn't really know her that well, but he could guess how she was feeling. "Georgia, it would be natural that you felt jealous of Emma - I mean, she was involved with something wonderful and exciting, and it's normal for humans to wish to be a part of something so exciting."

"I'm not jealous!" Georgia snapped, and Chopper looked taken aback. "I mean...oh, forget it." She sat down again. "Where are we, anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Chopper looked around him, and then over at Zoro. "Oh no, Zoro!"

"He's fine." The woman holding him said - her voice even sounded younger than Tashigi's, so it definitely was _not_ Tashigi. Maybe her _body_, but not her _spirit_. "It's you two who should be worried."

"Why?" Georgia and Chopped asked together, bad Chopper added: "Where are the others?"

"Facing the first part of The Test." The woman replied. She seemed to be calm, but Georgia and Chopper noticed the possessive way in which she placed a hand on Zoro's back as she said: "If they can't complete the test, then they'll die."

"Why do you say that so calmly?!" Chopper cried, as Georgia dug her claws into the wooden pew.

She wouldn't exactly call Emma and the others _friends_, but she didn't want them to _die_. Okay, so she'd been using them to get her and her sister home, and knew very well that they would face the possibility of being captured due to her actions.

That didn't mean she wanted them to _die_, however.

"What kind of test?" Georgia asked suspiciously.

The woman nodded her head towards a stained glass window, which shimmered and then blurred, forming a new picture. "Watch." She said quietly.

* * *

The beam of light had expanded, and its rays woke Luffy up. "Huh? Wazzup? Where're we going?"

Nami was nearly sobbing, as she was picked up by some invisible force. "This is it! We're going up to Heaven!"

"What?" Luffy blinked, as he clung onto Sanji's back, much to the cook's annoyance. "You mean we're dying?"

"_Baka_!" Nami snapped. "Don't say it like that!"

Suddenly, and without warning, the light vanished, and they found themselves standing in a place that none of them recognized - it was a house, and they were standing in a hallway.

"Hmm..." Luffy said, standing up on Sanji's back.

The cook immediately shrugged the captain off, and Luffy tumbled to the floor.

"Look." Nami said suddenly. "Look at that photo on the wall!"

They all looked up, and saw a picture of three people - a Mother, and her two daughters.

"That's the same photo that Emma has on top of her piano at home." Nami said.

"Oh, hey, yeah, you're right." Luffy nodded. "So then...this is Emmy's house? Her old one?"

A voice suddenly said: "Yes. She knows all about you." A man wearing a white cloak said, as he appeared in front of them, startling them. "But, now is the time for you to learn about her."

"Who are you?" Nami wanted to know, as she and Sanji were instantly on guard. Luffy was just staring at the man.

"That doesn't matter." The man replied. He had a gravelly voice. "For now, just watch, and learn - you will be able to see these people, but they won't be able to see you."

"Why are we here, anyway?" Sanji wanted to know.

"You will see." The man replied, as he started to disappear. "But, I warn you...you might not like what you see..."

* * *

Usopp peered over the edge of the cloud tentatively, not sure he wanted to see what he was about to see but, at the same time, he knew that he had to look.

What he saw was that Franky had landed on top of Robin, and their lips were touching. The _other_ thing that he saw was that they had landed in the middle of some kind of rainbow-coloured pool, that was slowly sucking them into its depths.

"Oh no!" Usopp cried, as Franky and Robin started to vanish. "What do I do?! Oh, I know, I'll go for help, that's what I'll do! I'll go for help!" He promptly fainted, and fell into the pool along with Franky and Robin.

"Still feeling totally confident, Franky?" Robin asked him.

"Did I say that?" Franky replied, as they both took deep breaths, on instinct.

The world turned black around them for a second, and then they were both standing in the middle of a school yard. How did they know it was a school yard? From the sign, that read Primary School, and they both remembered that Emma had mentioned something about it once.

When Usopp came to, he slowly shook his head and stood up. "Oh, we must be back in Emma's world...hmm?" He suddenly noticed a car speeding towards them, and screamed, pushing both Franky and Robin out of the way. They landed on the grass, and a group of students ran by...walking right through the three cats!

Franky gasped, and Usopp looked terrified.

"No! We've died!" The two men yelled.

"Hmm..." Robin shook her head. "Perhaps not..."

"That is right, Nico Robin." A woman's voice said, and the three cats looked up, to see a figure wearing a black cloak standing before them. She had a sweet and gentle voice. "You have been taken back in time as ghosts, but you are not dead. You will find that you are not Devil Fruit Users here, as your job is to merely observe and learn. Learn about Emma's past, as she learned about yours." The woman raised a hand, and gestured to a glass window, where pieces of paper were blue-tacked. "Begin your search for her, here."

Robin, Franky and Usopp watched in silence as the woman disappeared, and then Robin began walking towards the windows.

"Wait, Robin, you're not _seriously_ going to go, are you?" Usopp asked her and, when she just looked over her shoulder at him, he sighed. "Okay, let's go and follow the advice of the stranger in the black cloak."

"Jeez, anything sounds super bad when you say it like _that_." Franky rolled his eyes, as they followed Robin over to the window and, by Robin standing on Usopp standing on Franky, they were able to find where Emma's classroom was.

They searched all over the primary school, and eventually found her, in classroom A1...

* * *

"_Emiko_!" Ace and Law shouted in unison, running to the edge of the pool in horror. Neither of them could swim and, if nobody could _see_ them, then how could they save Emma?!

"Yes?" Her head suddenly appeared above the water, and they looked down in shock to see that she was treading it. She was blinking, looking slightly shocked herself. "I know, right?" Her gaze turned thoughtful, and then she looked up at Ace, and said: "But, that also means that I can do _this_..." She leapt up, and wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him into the water with her.

He was startled at first but then, he realised, he too could swim again - it was as if, in this world, their abilities had been cancelled out, along with their inability to swim.

As Emma smiled mischievously at Ace, and Law just rolled his eyes, she said: "I also know where we are...this is Bali, some time around 1998..."

"And, how do you know that?" Ace asked her, also treading water (God, it had been a _long_ time since he'd been able to do that!).

"_Caaan yooou feeeel the loooove toooniiiight_!" A child's voice suddenly sang and, as the three cat's watched, a little girl with very long dark brown hair, wearing a green one piece bathing suit with an orange skirt and bow, came flying out of a nearby hotel room, and launched herself into the pool. Water went everywhere.

"Emma!" A woman with curly dark brown hair immediately sped out of the room as well, holding a bottle of suncream. "I told you to _wait_ until I'd put the suncream on you!"

"But Mu-um!" The little girl said, as she emerged, grinning, and only a few feet away from where Emma and Ace were. "I wanted to act out that scene from The Lion King, you know, where Simba jumps into the water, and then he pulls Nala in with him!"

"I don't care, now come back up here, and then you can go back in." Lee replied, as Sarah appeared behind her, in a maroon t-shirt and a pair of black shorts, and a Bad Girl baseball cap on her head. "Sarah, keep an eye on your sister." She added.

"I'm going out." She replied, shrugging.

Lee sighed. "Then take her with you."

"No way."

"_Sarah_."

Ace looked at Emma, who was watching the scene unfold, with her hazel eyes shining as she watched her eight-year-old self.

"Hey, Emiko..." Ace said. "You never told me you weren't a natural red-head."

Emma responded by trying to dunk him under the water, before swimming huffily over to the edge, where Law helped her to get out of the water by grabbing onto the scruff of her neck with his cat fangs. She shook herself, making the water droplets go all over Law, and he gave her a Look.

"Oops, sorry, Law-Chan." She giggled, and then rubbed up against him. "Better, or worse?" She asked him, smirking.

"_Much_ better." Law smirked back, just as Ace emerged from the pool, dripping wet, and glaring murderously at Law.

Emma sighed. "Now come _on_ you two." She said, just as an eleven-year-old Sarah called something out to somebody in the hotel room.

"Come on, Nanna!" Sarah called and, a second later, an old lady with short dark brown hair emerged from the room.

Emma gasped, and froze, her eyes fixed on the old lady. "_Nanna_!" She whispered, and both Law and Ace then remembered that she'd stated how her Grandmother had died. She took a few steps forward, as the old woman walked down the steps of the room's porch, and began to walk along the path with Sarah.

"Oh, Nanna!" Eight-year-old Emma hurried to pull herself out of the pool. "Where are you going? Can I come?"

"I thought that you wanted to go swimming?" Eleven-year-old Sarah rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't stop talking about it on the plane. We've been in Bali, what, five minutes?"

"Oh, stop it, Sarah." Emma said firmly, before turning to her Nanna. "Where are you guys going? Can I come with you?"

"We're going to the shops up the road to get some torches and batteries." Her Nanna replied, smiling. "And, of course you can come - go and get changed, little lamb."

"Okay!" Emma said chirpily, before scurrying back up to the hotel room.

Law and Ace both glanced at Emma, who had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling.

"I'm so...happy..." She whispered, nuzzling up against Ace's neck. "This was my favourite trip..." She purred. "And...I get to see my Nanna again...I miss her _so_ much, you guys..." _I can't even _begin_ to describe this right now...but, what if it _means_ something?_

* * *

**~1996: School~**

"This must be Emma's classroom." Usopp whispered, as they crept up to the door.

"Why are we whispering and creeping?" Franky wanted to know.

"I don't know!" Usopp hissed back as Robin, who was walking normally, went right into the classroom, and jumped up onto the desk in the centre of the front row. "Robin!" Usopp gasped, and then he and Franky followed her into the classroom.

Robin was looking at the girl at the desk, and then she smiled. She instantly recognized the very small child. Five years old, and going on six, Emma Pax was cute, with her dark brown hair tied up in a tight ponytail and secured with ribbons. She had (fake) sapphire stones in her ears, and a beaded necklace around her neck. She wore the same medium blue polo shirt and dark blue pleated skirt as the other girls in the classroom, one of whom she was talking to right now.

"Hey, isn't that Mayling?" Usopp wondered, as he and Franky joined Robin on the desk.

"Who's Mayling?" Franky asked.

"One of Emma's two best friends." Usopp replied, glancing at the glasses-wearing Chinese girl, and then looking around the classroom. He spotted Krystal in the third row, with her golden brown hair that had been long and straight even then, pointedly ignoring a boy who was pestering her.

"Emma, I _still_ can't believe you got the same mark as me." Six-year-old Mayling said. "I told the teacher we didn't copy."

Emma nodded. "Me too. Mummy and Daddy even came up to the school, and told her that I don't cheat. So, we're okay!"

"We're okay because we didn't cheat." Mayling replied. "And, because she knows you get good grades in _everything_."

"Well, so do _you_." Emma pointed out. "You even get good grades in maths."

"Yeah, but _you_ got the highest grade in our spelling test last week." Mayling reminded her. "Are the teachers giving you special work or something?"

Emma nodded. "Uh-huh! They got some work off of the year five teachers - I like spelling more than maths." She rolled her eyes.

Mayling laughed. "Maths is fun - numbers are just like words, after all."

"That's what Daddy says." Emma replied. "Anyway, let's go and save Krystal - she's being harassed by Matthew Twaiman again."

Mayling nodded. "Yeah, she looks like she's about to slap him!"

They hurried over there, and Robin, Franky and Usopp took a look at the papers on the desk, which appeared to be a mid-term report card.

"A hundred percent in everything except maths, where she got a seventy-nine percent, which is still very good." Robin smiled. "The two teachers think that she's a lovely student. It's written here that she intends to become a vet-nurse, a police officer, a singer, or a pensioner."

"That's good, well, except for the pensioner part." Usopp nodded. "She's pretty smart."

"Yeah." Franky agreed. "Only...I can't help but think that something's wrong..."

"You mean, that something might be _about_ to go wrong?" Robin corrected him, and the cyborg-kitty nodded, just as the scene began to shift around them.

"What's happening?!" Usopp cried.

"We're in transition." Franky realised. "We must be about to go to a different place!"

"Or, a different time." Robin mused.

"Okay, do you think that you could _maybe_ stop correcting me?" Franky asked her, and she merely smiled at him as their world went black.

* * *

**~1996: Home~**

"School is fun, but I like the holidays better!"

Nami, Luffy and Sanji stared in shock, as a now six-year-old Emma rode her bike (pink, and with streamers on the handlebars) down the street.

"Yuck!" A girl who lived across the road and was a year younger than Emma, replied. She was slightly chubby, and had shorter brown hair than Emma. Her name was Peta Sommerton. "i don't like school at _all_!"

"But, Peta, you're only in pre-primary." Emma pointed out, riding ahead of Peta.

"Hey, wait up!" Peta, who still had training wheels on her bike, peddled furiously, to catch up with Emma, who had cycled all the way up to the top of the driveway.

"Hey, Peta, lookit what I can do!" Emma cycled fast down her own driveway, across the street and all the way up to the top of the Sommertons' driveway, without even peddling.

Peta's eyes widened. "Be careful!" She warned her friend, as she followed her. "Remember when Tanya fell into the rose garden?"'

Emma narrowed her eyes at the offending bushes across the road, as she and five-year-old Peta left their bikes on the driveway. "I wish Mummy would get rid of those things." She said, as she and Peta went into the house, leaving Nami, Sanji and Luffy to run and catch up before the door was closed.

They found Emma and Peta in the kitchen, where Tracey Sommerton (called Aunt Tracey by all the kids on the street) was making sandwiches.

Emma was standing at the fridge, looking at a report card on the fridge. "Is this Brooke's?" She asked Tracey, who nodded distractedly - with four kids to take care of while her husband was at work, she had her hands full, especially since the neighbourhood kids were in and out all day.

"She only got a forty-two percent in society and environment this year." Emma stated bluntly, just as the front door banged open.

Tracey said: "Emma, don't be rude."

"I'm sorry." Emma replied, contritely, as a group of kids came into the kitchen.

There was eight-year-old Brooke and her nine-year-old sister, Amanda. There was a then nine-year-old Sarah, and her friend, nine-year-old Leigha Silver. Then there was Leigha's twelve-year-old sister, Kristy. And, finally, there was nine-year-old Tanya Callows, and her twelve-year-old sister, Melissa.

The seven girls were talking and laughing loudly as they took sandwiches from the plate on the counter, and a few of the girls went into the games room to watch TV, even though two year old Mattie (Tracey's youngest child and only son) and two-year-old Michel (Leigha and Kristy's younger brother) were watching The Land Before Time.

There was a commotion from in there, and Tracey went to go and sort it out.

Meanwhile, Emma was asking Brooke about her grades.

"Oh, fuck off." Brooke snapped back.

"Huh?" Emma blinked, just as Tracey came storming back in, looking livid.

"Who said that word?!" She demanded to know, of the ones who were still in the room.

"It was Brooke!" Luffy called.

"She can't hear you talking, Luffy." Nami rolled her eyes, and watched as Tracey grilled the kids.

Brooke began to look worried, and then she said: "It was Emma!" She pointed at Emma, who just looked confused.

"Oh no..." Sanji muttered, shaking his head.

"Emma, did you say that word?" Tracey asked, crossing her arms.

"What word?" Emma asked. "Which one?"

"She said the 'F' word!" Brooke stated.

"No, I didn't!" Emma gasped. "Sarah! Sarah!" She ran into the games room, and the three cats that she couldn't see followed her. She was tugging on her sister's arm. "Sarah, Brooke said I called somebody _fat_, but I didn't!"

"Huh? Fat?" Sanji blinked, as Tracey came into the living room.

"Uh, yeah." Nami sighed. "Just look at Aunt Tracey and her daughters - Emma's obviously been told not to use the word 'fat'."

Tracey grabbed Emma's hand, and marched her back home, where she proceeded to tell Lee what had happened.

"I feel kind of bad for Lee." Nami said, as Lee tried to deal with the TV repair man _and_ Tracey _and_ a confused Emma. "I mean," she went on, when both Sanji and Luffy gave her odd looks. "She can't very well _tell_ Aunt Tracey that, for Emma, the 'F' word is 'fat', because then she'd have to explain to her _why_."

"I agree completely, Nami-Swan!" Sanji said.

"I feel more sorry for Emmy." Luffy remarked, as Lee told off Emma, and said that she would have to go without Nintendo for a week. Apparently, this was a death-sentance, and sent Emma into a state of hysterics, much to Lee's embarrassment.

"But, Mummy, I didn't do anything wrong! Please, Mummy, don't take the Nintendo off of me!"

"Be quiet, and go to your room, right now!"

However, when Bruce got home that night, both he and Lee apologized to their youngest daughter, and also grilled their eldest daughter for not standing up for her sister.

They also gave back the Nintendo.

"Damn straight." Nami nodded, as everything around them suddenly began to turn white. "Wh-what the...?!"

* * *

**~1997: School~**

Robin, Franky and Usopp watched as six-year-old Emma kissed her Mother goodbye at the classroom door, which was now A6, as she was in year two. Inside, as the class was started by a smiling African lady, the three cats located Emma, and watched as the teacher handed out spelling tests that she had graded.

"A ninety-two percent, Joshua, very nice."

"Eighty-four for you, Jameila, excellent work."

"Forty-two percent, Rebecca - you need to work harder."

A very tall girl with olive skin just rolled her eyes.

"Emma, ninety-seven percent - keep up the good work." The teacher smiled at Emma, who grinned back, and looked happily at her success.

"Teacher's pet." Rebecca muttered, and Emma glanced at Rebecca, before looking back at her paper and frowning.

Robin, Franky and Usopp noticed that she frowned throughout most of the morning, but when they followed her out to the lunch area, she was all smiles again, as she greeted Krystal and Mayling.

As the three girls ate lunch together, they chatted, and then Mayling happened to ask Emma about Rebecca Winrow.

"We know she's been bullying you about your marks." Mayling said, as she ate her cookies.

Emma just shrugged. "i don't care about old Winslow." She said.

Krystal giggled. "Isn't he that blue thing from Cat-Dog?"

"Yup." Emma replied, and the three girls laughed.

They finished off their recess, and then moved to the playground to play.

"Let's play Farthing Wood?" Emma suggested.

"What's that?" Mayling wanted to know.

"We get to pretend to be animals." Emma replied. "the ones who had their home destroyed and had to find shelter at White Deer Park. You know, that show on ABC?"

"Oh, yeah, I watched that show." Krystal nodded. "I get to be Vixen."

Emma nodded. "Okay. I want to be Whisper."

"And I'll be Lady Blue!" Mayling grinned. "You red foxes had better get off my territory!" She added, and began to chase Krystal and Emma, who laughed and shrieked as they climbed across play equipment and over huge black tires that were places in the leaves.

"Look at that." The three cats heard Rebecca say, as she and her friends sat on the blue-painted benches near the playground. "Emma, Krystal and Mayling are _so_ weird."

"Did you hear Mayling's News this morning?" Another girl added. "Who cares about her stupid trip to Hong Kong?"

"Yeah, she got presents for Krystal and Emma - why didn't she get _us_ anything?" Another girl added.

"Because they're selfish, that's why." Rebecca nodded, just as there was a shriek from where the three girls pretending to be foxes were.

"Look!" Emma held something up in her hand. "I found gold! We found gold!"

Everybody immediately crowded around the three girls.

"It's not gold." Robin confirmed, as she, Franky and Usopp jumped up onto a nearby black tire (they were the huge ones, used on big trucks). "It's just a rock, spray-painted with gold paint."

"Still, it must be pretty exciting for a kid." Usopp stated, as Emma, Krystal and Mayling grinned, and declared themselves pirates, much to the amusement of the three cats.

"Show-offs." Rebecca mumbled, crossing her arms. "I'll get you for this, Emma." She added, under her breath.

"Uh-oh..." Franky mumbled, as the scene began to shift around them. "_That_ doesn't sound too good..."

* * *

**~1997: Home~**

Six-year-old Emma (who was going on seven) was sitting in front of the TV in the evening, watching Feral TV and colouring in a picture.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy sat on the couch, still as cats, and watched as Emma traced expertly around her hand with a texta, before adding rings and nail-polish.

"Now," she said thoughtfully. "Who should it be for?" Just then, Bruce came into the games room. "Oh, I know, it's for Daddy!" She wrote _To Daddy, Love Emma_ on the piece of paper, and hurried to give it to him.

"Thank you." Bruce said, but Nami and Sanji noticed that he was looking solemn. He turned off the TV, and sat on the couch with Emma, as a now ten-year-old Sarah came in, and sat with them.

Nami peered out of the games room, and into the kitchen, where she could see Lee standing behind the counter. There were tears pouring down her face, as she sobbed silently.

A moment later, they found out why.

"Girls," Bruce said, taking the one girls' hands in his own. "Last night...Pop went to sleep, and he didn't wake up again."

"Oh." Sarah said, blinking.

Emma's reaction was more pronounced. She stared up at her Father, and realisation dawned on her face. "You mean he's...?" And, when Bruce nodded, Emma began to cry - hard. Bruce could only hug her, as Sarah got up and left, and Emma talked with her Father for a little bit, trying to understand, and Bruce couldn't say much at all.

"Didn't Emma once mention that her Pop was on her Dad's side of the family?" Nami whispered, as she and Sanji and Luffy followed Emma and her Dad out to the kitchen, where Lee was still upset.

Sanji nodded. "Yeah. It must be hard on him, too...look at his eyes. Those are the eyes of a man in pain."

Nami nodded her understanding, as Lee tearfully hugged Emma, and told her that when she'd found Pop, he had looked very peaceful.

Emma went into the study, where Sarah was playing a computer game, and angrily demanded to know why Sarah was not crying.

Lee had to come and explain to Emma that people handled their grief in different ways and, that while Sarah may not show it, she was very upset, as well.

"Not as upset as Emma." Nami said softly, as they watched Emma hug a grey and green sweater that had been her Pop's favourite, and reminisce with her parents about the days on her Great-Grandfather's farm. "It sounded like she was really close to her Pop."

Luffy looked thoughtful. "You know...she once said to me and Ace that we were really lucky to still have our Grandfather...I didn't understand her then. Now, I think I _do_."

"That's good, Luffy." Sanji said, nodding in approval, as the scene began to shift around them. "Oh, here we go again..."

"I _still_ think she's crazy for idolising him, though!" Luffy rolled her eyes.

"_Luffy_!" Nami scolded him, whacking him upside the head with her paw as their world went white.

* * *

**~1998: School~**

Robin, Franky and Usopp hid under the desk in the demountable classroom that was T3, and watched as Emma, now eight-years-old, got scolded lightly by her teacher for failing a maths test.

"Emma, you _must_ work harder at maths." The teacher said. "It's really not as hard as it seems."

"But...what _is_ division?" Emma asked. "Why do we need it?"

The teacher sighed, and took out a book. "Here, this is for you to read." She said, and Robin noticed how Emma's eyes lit up - reading! "It's called 'Maths, Friend Or Foe?' - do you know what a foe is, Emma?"

Emma nodded. "Uh-huh - it's an enemy, like Rebecca Winsl-Winrow." She corrected herself quickly, and both Franky and Usopp snickered.

The teacher did not look pleased. "Emma, _please_ try to get along with Rebecca, or at the very least, avoid her when you can."

"That's just the problem, Mrs. Oliver, I _can't_." Emma stated. "She always comes and finds me when I'm playing with Krystal and Mayling and Kimberly, or playing Cactus Chasie with Andrew..."

"Cactus Chasey?" Franky and Usopp asked in unison, at the same time as Robin said: "Who's Andrew?"

Mrs. Oliver just sighed. "Please study hard, Emma - we have a maths test coming up. And, stop using orange pencil to rule your margin lines - it looks tacky."

"But, Rebecca stole my red pencil." Emma replied.

"Then ask somebody if you can borrow theirs." Mrs. Oliver said, as the school siren rang, signalling the end of lunchtime. "Don't use orange."

"Okay." Emma nodded, and returned to her seat.

"What's wrong with orange?" Usopp wondered, as the scene around them began to shift.

"I dunno, but it seems like Emma's really struggling in maths." Franky said.

"Of course." Robin nodded. "She considers it to be Mental Abuse Towards Homo-Sapiens."

"What?" Franky and Usopp asked in unison, as they all blacked out again.

* * *

**~1998: Home~**

"Hey, look." Luffy ran down the carpeted hallway. "They moved houses or something - neat!"

Nami and Sanji followed him at a much slower pace, onto the tiled floor and then into the carpeted room at the front of the house, where the TV was.

There, Emma was sitting on the floor, playing the Nintendo 64. Next to her was a man they had never seen before - he had dark skin, and a friendly face, and he was laughing as his futuristic-looking race-car crashed into another wall, before sailing off the edge.

"So how's Bali?" Emma, who was eight-years-old, asked the man, as she finished the race in third place. "How's Tini? Why didn't she come with you?"

"Bali?" Sanji mused. "I've heard Emma-Chan mention that before..."

"Oh, of course, it's that place she used to go for holidays." Nami nodded. "She loved it there, apparently."

"Oh, yeah, she told me that she used to eat a lot of Jimbaran Fish when she was over there." Luffy remembered.

"Tini is very busy with work." The man said, smiling. "Do you like the bracelet she got you, though?" He asked her.

"Of course I do, I love it!" Emma said, holding up her wrist, where a black, hot pink and bright green bracelet made of leather was clipped. Her name was on it. "Karma, tell Tini I said thank you, okay? oh! And, I'm going to write her a letter, so can you give that to her?"

Karma grinned. "Okay." He then pointed to the stack of N64 games. "Hey, Emma, what's that game?"

"Oh, that's Banjo-Kazooie. It's not two-players, though...we could trade turns?" She suggested, and Karma nodded, so Emma started up that game, which seemed to involve a honey bear carrying a red bird in a blue backpack, jumping and swimming and flapping their way across really cool levels.

Emma was really involved in the game, however, and forgot to give Karma a turn. He didn't seem to mind, though.

"She hasn't really changed, has she?" Sanji asked, smiling, as the scenes around them began to change, yet again.

"I dunno..." Nami said thoughtfully. "She seems a bit more talkative here...she kept eye-contact with Karma and everything. Something must've happened..."

"Hmm..." Sanji mused, as they whited out.

* * *

**~1999: School~**

Franky and Usopp waited outside of the girl's bathroom, as Robin went into there.

The black she-cat looked all around, and then found the tiny nine-year-old Emma, huddled up in the last stall of the bathroom. She was shaking, and there were tears cascading down her face.

As Robin watched, a figure appeared in the doorway, and Rebecca Winrow walked in. She found Emma, and Robin watched in silence as Emma tried to get away, but Rebecca was too big.

Robin stood there, unable to do anything, as the bigger girl hit Emma across the shoulders, before pushing her into a wall.

"How _dare_ you tell Ms. Kelly that we all needed more maths help!" Rebecca snapped, glaring at Emma. "If you hadn't opened your big mouth, then we'd all still be able to get away with learning about the stupid Duyfken! You ruined _everything_!" She kicked Emma's shin, before turning and walking out of the bathroom, and leaving Emma crying and shaking by the wall, until a pale girl with freckles and strawberry blonde hair came in.

"Emma?" The British girl, Kimberly Coasts, asked, as she came in. "I've been looking for you...oh my God, what happened?!" She asked, hurrying over to her best friend.

Emma sobbed, and began to tell Kimberly what had happened, as Robin left the bathroom.

Outside, Franky and Usopp took one look at Robin's stony face, and asked her what had happened.

She shook her head. "I do not wish to talk about it." She said flatly, as Emma and Kimberly emerged from the bathroom behind her.

"Why hasn't your sister done anything?" Kimberly asked. She was holding onto Emma's arm and shoulders.

"Sarah won't help me." Emma sniffled.

"Come on, let's get you up to the sick bay." Kimberly suggested. "We can tell the teachers."

Emma just nodded, and the two girls began to walk away.

The three cats made to follow them, but their world suddenly began to go black.

"What was _that_ all about?" Usopp wondered out-loud, and glanced at Robin, but she pointedly turned away from him.

She herself knew how cruel kids could be, and she knew now that Emma knew that too. At least she'd had a friend like Kimberly around to help her get through it.

* * *

**~1999: Home~**

"Oh, wow, we moved again." Luffy commented, looking around the new house in awe.

Nami rolled her eyes. "_Baka_. It's not _our_ house."

Luffy gave her a Look. "Oh, I know that, I just...hey, food!" He bounded over to the coffee table, where a plate of chips and a bowl of sauce were, but Sanji held him back.

"Luffy, look!" The blonde cat said, and Luffy looked.

There, sitting on the couch, with their feet up on the coffee table, were a nine-year-old Emma, and a nine-year-old Ashlee. The two cousins were watching a recording of The Spice Girls Live In Istanbul, but they weren't exactly getting along.

"Ginger's better." Ashlee was saying. She was wearing a cool pale green and white t-shirt, and a black skirt.

"No, Baby is!" Emma replied. She was wearing a Pokemon t-shirt and jeans.

"You only like her because she has the same name as you." Ashlee pointed out.

"Well _you_ only like _Geri_ because she has the same _hair_ as you." Emma retorted.

"You should dye your hair." Ashlee said suddenly, tugging on a lock of Emma's (now much shorter) dark brown hair. "I think it'd suit you."

"No way." Emma rolled her eyes. "I mean, me, a red-head? Like, _even_..."

"No, just ask your parents." Ashlee insisted. She reached over and dipped her fingers in the tomato sauce and, before Emma could stop her, had smeared it down the strand of hair that she was holding. "There, you see?"

"Ashlee!" Emma cried, and then raised her voice. "Mum! Dad!"

Lee and Bruce, sitting over in the kitchen with Rose and John, pointedly ignored her.

"Guys!" Ashlee called as well, mainly just to annoy them further - she'd _never_ get away with this at home. She tried to get their attention another way. "The tomato sauce is on the floor!"

And, Luffy chose that moment to take a flying leap at the table and, of course, the tomato sauce _did_ end up on the floor.

"How did that happen?!" Lee cried, as she and Rose rushed over with paper towels.

Emma and Ashlee both pointed at each other. "_She_ did it!"

Lee snapped: "Outside, now! Both of you!" She pushed them both outside, and then rolled her eyes when the two girls began to laugh.

"So...do they get along, or do they _not_ get along?" Sanji wondered, still not quite understanding how women worked.

"Yes." Was Nami's reply, as the scene began to shift around them. "Don't worry, Sanji - you'll understand someday..."

* * *

**~2000: School~**

Usopp, Robin and Franky followed Emma across the school oval - on top of not wearing frilly socks to school anymore, she had started leaving her Mum at the car, instead of being walked to the classroom.

Emma was holding a purple Connector Texta (the one that connected at the lid to other Textas of its kind) and writing on her hand. "Okay, so seven-seven's a forty-nine." She muttered, writing the number down on her thumb. "It's not cheating." She told herself. "I just need a little bit of..._help_, to remember what the number is...that way, I won't have to stay in at recess anymore!" She walked into the classroom and sat down, and Franky, Usopp and Robin watched as the school day began.

The teacher brought a small box of little numbered cubes to the front of the classroom during the very first lesson of the day, and began to draw some out, randomly. The kids who had that certain number had to get up and recite the times-tables of that day, which happened to be seven.

The last number called was Emma's, which was number nine.

She stood up, and held the sheet out in front of her - it had rows of numbers written as things like 7x4, but without the answers. They were just there for reference, but Robin, Franky and Usopp suddenly understood that she could now see the answers that were on her thumb.

She started reciting very quickly, and finally finished, looking both surprised and pleased, as the teacher congratulated her.

"Keep working hard, Emma." He told her. "You have potential."

"I...I guess so." Emma nodded, and sat down, trading a smile with a girl with white-blonde hair that sat next to her, but another girl with white-blonde hair glared across at her.

"You didn't finish them last week." The glaring girl said, as the teacher had walked out of the classroom to speak to another teacher. "So don't act like you're suddenly a genius, Emma."

Emma swallowed, and then looked determined. "Be quiet and mind your own business, Kelly." She said, and the girl sitting next to her stared at her, her blue eyes shining like she couldn't _believe_ that Emma had just stood up for herself.

Kelly frowned. "Don't say that." She said, but Emma pointedly turned away from her, and began to talk to her friend, leaving Kelly to stew in her own annoyance.

"She shouldn't have cheated." Usopp said, frowning, from where he, Robin and Franky sat on the row of cubbies (which, in Australia, were called pigeon-holes, for some reason).

"Hmm..." Franky shook his head. "I think that it's okay - after all, the more times she writes down the ones she tends to forget, the more she'll remember them!"

"Are you sure about that?" Usopp wanted to know, as their world began to black out.

"Pretty sure, yeah." Franky nodded.

* * *

**~2000: Home~**

Nami, Sanji and Luffy watched as Lee and Bruce went out for a walk during the evening, leaving the two girls home by themselves.

They wandered down to the activity room, where Emma was watching The Saddle Club on TV.

"No, Cobalt!" She sobbed, as the black stallion was injured in a jumping accident.

Nami noticed a pair of pretend stirrups slung over a towel on the back of the couch, and rolled her eyes. No doubt, Emma liked to pretend to ride the couch like a horse and, sure enough, there was her bike helmet on the couch, and a pair of purple gum boots - Emma was horse-crazy, apparently.

"If Mum and Dad would just let me ride, then I'd be a better rider than Veronica!" Emma declared, wiping away her tears. "Oh no, they have to have Cobalt put down! Poor Carole!" She hugged a nearby horse toy.

"She sure is emotional, isn't she?" Luffy commented, as he chowed down on a chocolate bar.

"What the...where did you get that from?!" Nami snapped, just as some loud punk music began to play from a nearby bedroom.

Emma frowned, and paused her video (on the scene of Cobalt dreaming about galloping through the fields once more, as he is dying), before going over and knocking on the door (due to a sign stating that one could not enter until one had knocked). She then opened it, and said: "Sarah, can you please turn that down?"

"Go away." Sarah said, from where she was sitting at her desk.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy crept into the room, and realised that the walls were dark blue, and that the ceiling was pitch black. Posters of slightly scary-looking rock stars decorated the walls, and the music playing loudly from the stereo was _Freestyler_, by Bomfunk MC.

Emma went into the room. "Whatcha doing?" She wanted to know. "Oh, you're drawing Kari, from Digimon!" She said, admiringly. "That's really good."

"Mmhmm." Sarah replied. "Now, go away."

"Okay." Emma turned, but then she gasped. "Oh! You got the Digimon card from the butter!" She gasped again. "Oh! It's Patamon! Sarah, can I have it, _please_?! He's my favourite, you know that!" She picked up the card, with the little orange flying pig on it.

"No!" Sarah snapped. "Get out!"

"Please, Sarah, I'll trade you _three_ cards, and I'll unpack the dishwasher for the next two weeks!" Emma said, still holding onto the card.

"I said _no_!" Sarah stood up - she towered over Emma. She tried to take the card back, but Emma held on stubbornly.

So, Sarah hit her.

And, not just a little push or the whacks Nami or Sanji sometimes gave to the back of Luffy's head.

There was a very audible sound as Sarah's fist connected with the side of her little sister's head, and Emma immediately fell to the floor. The card fluttered from her fingers, and Sarah picked it up.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy noticed how she looked at her sister with disgust and, when Emma didn't move, Sarah said: "Hmph. Yeah, right - get up and get out."

Slowly, and without looking at her sister, Emma got up, and hurried from the room.

The three cats had to scurry to avoid being shut in when Sarah slammed the door, and only then did the tears begin to flow from Emma's eyes. She ran to her room, and the three cats hurried after her. Emma slammed the door shut, and climbed up onto her single bunk-bed, grabbing her favourite stuffed animals and sobbing into her pillow.

"We did _not_ just see that." Nami whispered. Sure, she and Nojiko had fought sometimes, although Nami had been in a slightly _different_ situation by this stage in her life, but Nami knew that Nojiko would _never_ have hit her like this and, if she had, then Bellemere, had she still been alive, would have hit Nojiko back twice as hard. She knew that Nojiko respected her enough _not_ to, though.

"Poor Emma-Chan..." Sanji muttered, and actually looked around for a cigarette, like he usually did when he was upset.

Luffy didn't say anything. He was thinking of himself and Ace, and how they used to do that all the time. But, when he voiced this opinion, Nami just snapped at him.

"Luffy, you don't know _anything_, do you?!" The tabby cat raised her voice to be heard over Emma's sobbing. "_Nobody_ should do that to _anybody_, _especially_ not to a younger relative who can't defend themselves! Remember Emma's reaction to her cousin Clinton making that death-threat to Ashlee's younger brother, Mitchell? You and your brother are just...you're just..." She glanced over at Sanji, as their world began to shift. "Sanji, help me out here, I said something rather good one morning before coffee, remember? What was it?"

"Anomalies." Sanji said promptly, remembering.

"Hey!" Luffy was indignant. "Ace and I do _not_ have tentacles!"

"Those are _anemones_, you _baka_!" Nami and Sanji snapped in unison, as they all whited out.

"Oh, well we're not _that_, either."

"We never said you were!"

"_Shishishi_, you guys are talking at the same time!"

"Just shut up and let us get to the next scene!"

* * *

**~2001: School~**

"I don't have my sheet with me." Eleven-year-old Emma whispered, as she dug around in her desk tray.

"You didn't bring it?" Krystal whispered back. "We were supposed to."

"Oh well." Emma shrugged, as everybody else at her table started their work.

"Oh dear..." Robin muttered, sitting on the shelf above the school bags, near the window, with Franky and Usopp.

"What-oh?" Usopp asked her.

"She should be asking to look at somebody else's work-sheet, but that just hasn't occurred to her." Robin stated, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but they have to keep on turning the sheet over - wouldn't that just be annoying?" Usopp wondered.

Robin just sighed, as Emma chatted to her friends about Digimon and Pokemon, and didn't do her work.

When it came time for the work to be collected, he sent a girl named Ashleigh Osbourne around to collect the sheets. When the slightly chubby girl got to Emma, she asked for her sheet, and Emma said that she hadn't done it.

"Mr. Barnes!" Ashleigh called. "Emma did do her work!"

"Why not?" Mr. Barnes asked from his desk.

"I-I left the sheet at home." Emma replied, as everybody in the class turned to look at her.

"_Then why didn't you borrow somebody else's sheet instead of just twiddling your thumbs like an idiot_?!" Mr. Barnes was famous at the school for having the shortest temper of any of the teachers. "_Stand up right now_!" He was also an ex-policeman._  
_

As Emma stood up, looking pale, Franky whispered: "I agree that she should have used her initiative, but don't you think that's a bit too harsh?"

"Tell _him_ that." Usopp replied, jerking his head in Mr. Barnes' direction, as the teacher angrily asked Emma to explain herself.

"I...I left the sheet at home..." Tears had gathered in Emma's eyes, and she looked _really_ upset, as everybody in the classroom stared at her. A few people snickered, but her three best friends (Krystal, Mayling and Kimberly) were sympathetic to her, especially when she went on: "It's been...bad at home...Granddad has cancer, and today Mum went into the hospital to have cancer removed from her hand..." She burst into tears, and Krystal, who was sitting next to her, immediately stood up and put an arm around her best friend's shoulders.

The kids in the class merely stared at her.

Mr. Barnes looked slightly taken aback, and then said: "That still doesn't excuse what you did." This earned him a glare from Krystal. He sighed. "Go and wash your face...Krystal, go with her. Everybody else, take out your maths books."

As Krystal and Emma left the classroom, and a few of the girls snickered because Emma was crying, Robin just shook her head.

"I hope she was okay." Usopp said, as their world began to shift.

"That's why she has her super friends with her, Usopp." Frankly said, as Mayling and Kimberly hurried out of the classroom, and the three cats blacked out.

* * *

**~2001: Home~**

"Oh wow, looks like a party." Luffy was eyeing the food table - Sanji had to hold him back, as Nami tried to figure out whose house they were at.

She went into the house when somebody opened the door, and saw, to her surprise, a hospital bed. Oxygen tubes were hooked up to it and, when Nami jumped up onto the bed, she saw an old man lying there, with tubes hooked up to him and an oxygen mask over his face.

"Hmm..." Nami said, and then she looked over at the girl sitting by the man's bedside. Her eyes widened when she realised that it was Sarah. The fifteen-year-old was drinking Passiona, and writing in a book. Nami leaned across, craning her neck, and saw that it was a very deep poem, full of rich emotions and a lot of pain. Nami looked up at Sarah, who suddenly glanced up. Nami cringed, but then she realised that Sarah was looking at her Granddad.

There was suddenly a low, steady whine from one of the machines, and Sarah stood up suddenly, putting her book, pen and drink down. "Granddad?" She said, reaching out a hand. Her eyes widened. "D-Dad? Dad, come here, please!" She called.

_Oh no..._ Nami realised, and dashed out the door when it was opened by Bruce. She weaved around peoples' legs, forgetting that she could just run straight through them, and found Luffy fishing in a koi pond - how on earth was he _swimming_? - and Sanji had been watching Emma play with a girl around her own age, who was a half-relative. Emma had a rope tied around her waist, and the other girl (Rachael) had been pretending to 'lunge' her (when you exercise a horse by letting it run a circle around you on a long lead line). Rachael was currently up at the house.

Nami ran up at to Sanji. "Sanji!" She said. "This is bad...Emma's Granddad's just died."

"Oh no..." Sanji muttered, voicing Nami's earlier thoughts, just as Rachael came back to Emma.

"I think Granddad's a-gone." Rachael said, matter-of-factly.

"What?" Emma whispered, the colour draining from her face.

"I think Granddad's dead." Rachael stated.

It was Emma's turn to say: "Oh no..." As she untied her 'lead line' and headed up to the house, hardly caring about the prickles on her feet. The eleven-year old found her Mother, who was crying, and received confirmation that Eric was indeed dead.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy (who had not succeeded in catching a fish, so he snagged a salmon pattie off of the BBQ instead) followed her around, as she found her Dad and sister (who weren't crying) and Rachael's older sister, Maggie (who was Sarah's age).

Maggie was crying but Rachael, like Sarah, was completely dry-eyed.

So was Emma, too, that is until her Nanna came out, red-eyed and sobbing.

That was when Emma's own tears started to fall, slowly at first, but then they became a torrent. She and her Dad took a walk out the front, where Bruce comforted her as best he could, by saying that Eric was out of pain now.

"I'm glad that she's always had her family by her side." Nami whispered, as they began to white out. "It's so important for her to have this, even if they _aren't_ always good to her."

"I agree." Sanji nodded. "What caused her Granddad's death, though?"

Nami, remembering Sarah's poem, gave Sanji a Look. "Smoking."

* * *

**~2002: School~**

Franky, Robin and Usopp watched as twelve-year-old Emma got out of the car, and waved goodbye to her Mother.

"She looks blue." Franky commented, as they followed her across the basketball courts.

"I'd say brownishy-red." Usopp replied.

Franky rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "No, no, no - I mean she's depressed."

"Oh." Usopp blinked. "I wonder why?"

"We'll probably find out soon." Franky said, as Emma went over to her desk and sat down, placing her favourite Pony Pal books on the desk and resting her elbows on it.

"Mayling!" the heard her call, as the Chinese girl came into the classroom. "I got the Sailor Moon stickers for you!" She held them up and waved them about.

"Thanks." Mayling took the sheet of stickers. "But, I thought you were going to Penang?"

Emma's face fell. "Umm, no, Nanna has cancer."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Mayling said, giving her a quick hug. "Do you have to be in the sports carnival on Thursday?"

Emma shook her head. "No, Mum said I can skip it - I haven't trained for it, anyway."

"That's right." A new voice said, and a very athletic-looking girl came up to them. "I bet you just made it up so that you wouldn't have to do the sports carnival."

"I did _not_!" Emma snapped, but she was looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Go away, Kara!"

"Oh, and by the way, did you know that you have a massive lump on your neck?" Kara pointed out.

"I _said_, go away!"

Kara just rolled her eyes, and flounced off.

"Don't worry about her." Mayling said, putting an arm around Emma's shoulders. "Hey, thanks for the stickers, by the way."

Emma tried to smile. "Sure."

"Hey, I got you something from KL." Mayling said, reaching into her backpack. "They're really cool." She added, trying to make Emma feel better. "Ta-da! Catch-A-Bubbles!"

As Emma and Mayling gushed over the bubbles that, supposedly, never burst, Robin was shaking her head.

"Children can be very cruel." The black cat stated, as their world began to black out.

"Yeah, but how much longer are we going to be caught in this time-warp?" Franky wanted to know.

"Who knows?" Robin mused, smiling slightly. "Maybe forever?"

Usopp gulped.

* * *

**~2002: Home~**

"_I was born in Oklahoma, in the rolling Osage Hills_!" Twelve-year-old Emma sang, and her voice wasn't nearly as good as it was going to one day become but, as Nami, Sanji and Luffy watched, Emma seemed to be happy, holding a cowgirl Jessie doll and singing along to the song. "_And i rode my pinto pony at full gallop for my thrills_!" She sang that part very loudly.

Just then, Lee came into the activity room.

"Emma, I need to talk to...what are you _wearing_?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at her daughter's getup, which was supposed to make her into a cowgirl.

"Sorry." Emma apologized, and stopped the video. She sat down. "What's up?"

"I think you know." Lee looked at her. "Your teacher called me - why didn't you tell me what you did?"

"What did I do?" Emma asked her.

"You wrote a very mean note to a girl in your class." Lee looked disapproving. "Saying something about her being an ugly meanie?"

Emma pouted. "Mum, it was _her_ fault - she and Nicole Gash were ganging up on me, and calling me weird and a freak."

"Well, maybe if you'd stop taking all your horse books to school, and talking about Sailor Moon, then the kids would stop calling you weird?" Lee suggested.

Emma turned away. "I don't care."

Lee frowned. "Well, you should. You're going to apologize to Kristie on Monday, and you're also grounded for a week - no going to see Krystal."

"But, Mum!" Emma cried, turning to face her Mother as she stood up. "That's not fair!"

"Well, you should have thought about that _before_ you wrote a hate note. How would you feel if somebody wrote that to _you_?" Lee asked her.

"Fine, I'll apologize for writing the note." Emma muttered, perking up slightly when a younger-looking black Ranger appeared at the door, wagging his tail. Emma immediately hurried out to see the puppy, leaving Nami, Sanji and Luffy to contemplate what had just happened.

"I agree that writing a note may not have been the best move," Nami stated, sitting down. "But...she shouldn't be punished further than having to apologize, I think..."

Sanji agreed, as their world began to white out.

* * *

Law and Ace had been following Emma around for the past four days although, in between all of the strange transitions, where day suddenly became night and vice-a-versa, it had really only been a few hours. They noticed that she seemed to be happier than they could ever remember seeing her. She stayed very close either to her eight-year-old-self, or to her Nanna, and would occasionally nuzzle up to either Ace or Law, to express her happiness.

The three of them also took their time to swim whenever they could, as they had all realised that it might not last. Well, as long as it didn't run out when they were _in_ the water...

During a particular evening, as Law and Ace watched Emma watch her family - her Mum, sister, Nanna and Aunty Cheryl (in a wheelchair), that is - eat dinner, men with guitars came around to all the tables, asking for song requests.

When they got to the table with the five females at it, they asked eight-year-old Emma if she wanted to hear _Macarena_ or _Can You Feel The Love Tonight?_.

She, of course, chose The Lion King song, and grinned as the men started to play the song, and sing.

Emma also began to sing.

Ace nonchalantly sidled up to Emma, as Law glared at him in a calculating way. Ace just looked stubbornly at him, before cuddling up to Emma's side.

"You really like this song, _ne_, Emiko?" He asked her.

"_Mochiron_." She purred and then, at the _exact_ same time as her eight-year-old self, and in the _exact_ same tone of voice, added: "It's my favourite movie!"

Ace blinked at her, and then smirked. "Have I ever told you how cute you are?"

She looked away, and would have blushed if she could have. "Really?"

He pounced on her, pinning her to the ground under him. "You bet." He said, as she purred. "Once we get back to being humans, Emiko, I am going to..."

"Uh, I _hate_ to interrupt," Law said, sarcastically. "But, Emiko, your Nanna just got up and left."

"She probably went back to the room." Emma replied, as Ace glared at Law. "I remember thinking that at the time."

"She went the other way." Law stated.

"Oh." Emma blinked. "Maybe we'd better follow her..." She said, getting out from underneath Ace (much to the black cat's disappointment) and heading in the direction that Law had indicated, with him and Ace right behind her. "I have a feeling that we're here for a reason, after all..."

"I _knew_ she was going to say that." Ace muttered, and Emma stopped.

Turning around, she looked from Ace to Law, and then down at the ground. "I...I'm sorry." Her ears had drooped, her tail was on the ground - she was looking the picture of complete sadness all of a sudden.

"Emiko?" Ace took a step towards her. "What's wrong?"

"What's this all about?" Law wanted to know, blinking in surprise.

"I...I was so happy, to be able to watch a time in my life that I loved so much," Emma muttered. The red and white cat kept her eyes cast down, as she lay down on the ground. "That...I didn't even realise...I didn't think that...you guys wouldn't want to be doing this. I mean, Ace-Chan, you must be _so_ worried about Luffy right now, and...well, we don't know if he and the others are alright. And...I was so caught up in myself, that I didn't even _think_ about your feelings..._either_ of you, so...I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was so selfish." She closed her eyes, keeping her chin on the ground. _i'm such a _baka_! How can I call myself their friend - or, something more, or whatever the Hell I am with them - if I didn't even pay any attention to them?_ A few tears escaped from her eyes, as she just lay there on the pavement. It was the one with smooth stones stuck in the cement, and she had always loved it. Somehow, it seemed to bring her comfort.

Suddenly, something small and rough-feeling, like sandpaper, touched her face, just under her eyes, and she opened them to realise that it was Ace - the black cat was licking away her tears!

Emma glanced at him, as he lay down with her.

"Emiko," he said, placing his paws over hers. "I'm not angry at you." He told her. "I'm so sorry if it had seemed that way."

"But...I was so selfish..." Emma mumbled.

Ace chuckled gently. "What, you think I'd be angry at you for _that_?" She looked up at him. "Emiko, you're doing _exactly_ what I'd probably do if I was in your situation."

"If it was Sabo?" She asked, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Ace smiled slightly. "Probably." He admitted. He moved towards her, and nuzzled up against her. "So, don't worry about it, please. For now, I'm just happy that you're happy, and I don't mind following you around this place."

"Me either." Law said, and Ace blinked. He had _almost_ forgotten that the surgeon-cat was there, but now Law walked a bit closer, much to Ace's annoyance as he stood up. "Emiko, I really don't mind following you around. Like you said, we're probably here for a reason, so we should find out what it is." He leaned down a bit closer to look at her in the eye. "Besides, you must be worried about them, as well. For now, this is good for you - to be distracted."

"I thought you told me before that I needed to focus." Emma said, in a small voice.

Law gentle placed a paw on the top of her head. "When you're by _yourself_, Emiko - and, I don't plan on leaving your side ever again."

Ace rolled his eyes.

Emma smiled, as Law stepped back, and allowed her to stand up. "So...you two really aren't angry at me for being selfish?" They shook their heads. She smiled slightly. "Then...I guess I'm sorry for being so emotional. I guess nothing's changed, huh?"

"Nothing's gonna change, except with regards to _this_ guy." The two male cats replied, and then jerked their heads towards each other - they ending up hitting each other by mistake.

Emma stared at them for a moment, and then started giggling. Soon, she was laughing outright, and though Law and Ace glared at each other, they were glad that she was at least over her emo state.

"I am curious, though, Emiko," Law said, as they resumed their search for her Nanna. "Why _did_ you think that we were angry at you?"

"Well," she glanced at him. "Because the two of you were arguing...what _was_ the reason for that, anyway?" She asked them curiously.

"You really don't know?" Ace asked her. She shook her head. "Oh boy..."

"It's not because of _me_, is it?"

"No!" Ace cried, his eyes wide. _Well, yes, but no!_

"Of course not." Law said calmly. "I just can't stand Fire-Fist's entire being, is all."

"And _I_ can't stand Trafalgar's inability to concede defeat." Ace retorted.

"And _I_ think I know where my Nanna went." Emma said suddenly, and began climbing a staircase. "I hear her voice, you two, so come on!" _They don't like each other because they both like _me_, right? Oh dear..._

* * *

**~2003: School~**

"Oh, so it's a new school?" Usopp asked, watching a thirteen-year-old Emma put her school books in her locker.

"Seems so." Franky nodded.

Emma wore a new uniform, a blue shirt with a maroon tartan skirt, black stockings and a maroon blazer, with black shoes and a maroon tie. The uniform seemed to hang from her - she hadn't really grown much in the last year or so.

Robin, Franky and Usopp followed her, as she walked past other students on their lunch-break, too. Everywhere she looked, she saw groups of people, but none of them, despite being in her year, acknowledged her.

In the end, she went to the library, and just sat there, reading, until the bell rang again.

"Well, what was the point of that?" Usopp wanted to know.

"The point _is_," Franky said. "That she hasn't made any friends at her new school."

"But, why not?" Usopp blinked.

"Weren't you paying attention in primary school?" Franky asked him. "People think she's weird...I can understand that."

"So can I." Robin admitted.

"But, if she doesn't try and make friends soon..." Usopp realised, as they started to black out.

"Then she'll be exactly like she is as an adult." Robin confirmed.

* * *

**~2003: Home~**

"Hey, so she's moved again?" Nami realised, as they stood in the darkness of Emma's new room.

"Yeah, seems so." Sanji nodded, just as Emma stirred, and sat up. In the moonlight, they noticed how pale she was, and that she was shaking. They followed her down the hallway, to her parents' room, where her Mum and Dad woke up immediately.

"What's wrong with her?" Luffy wanted to know, hoping up onto the bed.

"I don't know." Nami and Sanji replied in unison.

"Mum..." Thirteen-year-old Emma said, holding onto her stomach. "There's a pain in...my stomach..." She took a few steps, and then she collapsed.

"Emma!" Lee gasped, as she and Bruce reached out to catch their daughter. "Bruce, call an ambulance!"

"It's fine." Bruce said, although his voice was tense, as he and Lee laid Emma out across the bed, next to the black cat that they couldn't see.

Luffy looked at Emma's pale face. "Emmy..." He whispered.

"What could it be, Bruce?" Lee asked worriedly, as she got a cold flannel, and Emma's eyelids began to flutter.

"It could be appendicitis." Bruce said, noticing how Emma's hand immediately flew to the right side of her stomach.

"Wh-what _happened_?" Emma whispered.

"You fainted." Lee said, as she placed a wet flannel on Emma's forehead.

"Oh..." Emma sounded upset. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Lee and Bruce said in unison.

"We'll take you to the hospital." Lee added. "Bruce, go and wake up Sarah."

Emma just groaned, and closed her eyes again.

"You'll be okay, Emmy." Luffy whispered to her, even though she couldn't hear him. "You grow up to be strong, and you even turn into a _cat_!"

"Why's _that_ a good thing?" Nami rolled her eyes, as they vanished again.

* * *

**~2004: School~**

"It doesn't seem like she did a good job at making new friends." Franky commented, as they watched fourteen-year-old Emma sit in class, reading by herself and waiting for the teacher to start class (it was an art class). She was wearing her summer uniform - a blue nurse-like dress with a maroon jumper. On the jumper were an assortment of pins - a little green one with Nirwana Club: Bali Dynasty written on it, an orange ribbon, and a black ribbon.

"Hey, Emma?" A girl with short dark-blonde hair sauntered over to her. "What's with all the ribbons?"

"Huh?" Emma looked up from her book (The Secrets Of Jin-Sei) and then looked away. "Oh, well, they're just...important to me, I guess...?"

"Why?" Another girl, a tall dark-skinned girl who was very pretty, had also joined them, along with a few others.

Robin, Franky and Usopp jumped up onto a nearby desk, and saw how nervous Emma looked, being the centre of such attention.

"Oh, umm...this one's from Bali," Emma pointed to the green pin with dancing frogs on it. "The orange one's...for the Bali bombings, yeah? And the black one's for skin cancer."

"Have you ever been to Bali?" A random boy asked.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I've been going since I was a little kid, and we're going back again next year, because my Nanna loves it there." Robin noticed the way she touched the black ribbon when she said that.

"Lucky." The first girl said enviously. "I've never even been to Rottnest."

"That's because you get motion-sickness." The dark-skinned girl pointed out, and they laughed.

Except for Emma, who merely smiled, and returned to her book.

The teacher, a large man with orangey-red hair, called the class to order then, and everything went smoothly until he called emma up to the front of the classroom.

"What is this?" He asked, holding up a piece of paper.

"My report?" Emma guessed, and Robin noticed that she shifted uncomfortably.

"I can see that," the teacher stated. "It has your name on it, which is why I called you up here. What I _don't_ know is why you chose _this_ piece." He held up the print-out of the painting that she had chosen to report on, which was a giant wave threatening some small fishing boats.

"That's _The Great Wave Off Kanagawa_." Emma replied quietly. "It fit the theme of romanticism in art during the 1830's."

"I was referring to romanticism in art in _Europe_." The teacher stressed, as he took out some other reports by Emma's fellow classmates. "Like this, or _this_." He then held up her report. "This is from _Japan_."

Emma bristled - the three cats watching could recognize it almost instantly. "You never _said_ that it had to be from Europe."

The teacher appeared not to have heard her, and pointed to a particular section of her report. "And _this_ - what is this?"

Emma didn't say anything and, curious, Usopp jumped up onto the table behind the teacher, and read the part of the report that his finger was pointing to. "'You can tell that, when this wave hist them, there's going to be a massive loss of life - the white crests of the wave appear as little claws, waiting to grab at the poor fishermen'." Usopp blinked. "What's so weird about that?"

"It's her interpretation of the painting." Robin remarked quietly.

Franky looked at her. "Hers, or yours?"

Robin just glanced at him.

"That's how I interpret the piece." Emma shrugged, not meeting the teacher's gaze. "It's not my fault that some people here don't find that romantic." She added, albeit under her breath, so the teacher probably didn't hear her.

"Well, while I respect your interpretation of the piece, this was _not_ what the brief stated." The teacher replied. "Have your Mother sign this and then bring it back to me tomorrow morning." He raised an eyebrow. "And, what are all those ridiculous things on your dress?"

"M-my badges." Emma replied, taking the report off of the teacher.

"They're not part of the school dress code." The teacher stated, and Emma sighed. "Take them off."

"Fine." Emma muttered, through gritted teeth.

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Usopp mused. "I mean, she was just stating her opinion."

"Now we know why she has a hard time expressing herself in the future." Franky agreed.

"How come we all seem to have an opinion on this, anyway?" Usopp wondered, as they started to disappear again.

"Well, it's not like we have anything better to do right now." Franky pointed out.

"Touche."

* * *

**~2004: Home~**

"Wow, this is the house that she's in now!" Luffy pressed his face to the glass sliding doors. "But, hey, look - it looks different outside!"

"They must've done some landscaping over the years." Nami agreed, coming to stand beside him. "Hey, there's Emma." She added, as Emma walked up to the house from out the back, and Ranger followed her.

They watched as she knelt down to give her a hug, but then both girl and dog jumped, when a door slammed open from somewhere in the house.

"_GET OUT_!" A voice that they all recognized as Sarah's screamed, and Emma hurried into the house, looking terrified.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy followed Emma at a run, down the hall to her sister's room, where they found her trying to slam their Mother's fingers in the door.

Lee was bracing the door with the heel of her other hand, but Sarah was stronger than she looked.

Emma lunged forwards, and pushed against the door as well. "Sarah, _stop_ this!"

"_GET OUT_!" Sarah yelled again, in a terrible voice - it sounded like a banshee was screaming.

"NO!" Both Emma and Lee yelled in unison, and all three of them were crying, but Sarah seemed more angry than upset.

Emma suddenly lunged again, but this time she managed to hip-and-shoulder the door open, and grabbed onto her sister's wrist. "Sarah, _why_ are you _doing_ this?!" She gasped suddenly, and wrenched her hand back, when she realised that it, along with Sarah's wrist, were coated in blood. "_Sarah_?!" Emma gasped, as Lee stepped into the room, looking pale, and took her daughter's wrist, taking in the deep and frenzied scratches, which were the result of Sarah cutting herself._  
_

"Emma, go and call your Father." Lee said, in a shaky voice, as Sarah broke down, and Lee embraced her.

Emma nodded, and hurried out to the kitchen, and the three cats followed her. "It's gotta be the Roaccutane." They heard her mutter, as she picked up the phone and pressed the speed-dial number.

"Well, _that_ was certainly unexpected." Sanji commented, sighing.

"I'm glad that she stood her ground." Nami nodded. "This must've been such a scary time for her."

"Yeah...it seems that her family isn't perfect." Sanji said, as they started to white out.

"Nobody's is." Nami replied.

* * *

**~2005: School~**

"Oh, look, she made a friend." Usopp pointed out, as they watched a fifteen-year-old Emma sit on the grass and chat with another girl.

The other girl had tanned skin and short golden blonde hair, and she was small like Emma.

"Wait, you had appendicitis?" The new girl asked, in a British accent. And, when Emma nodded, she grinned. "No _way_, me too! I also had open heart surgery."

"I had thyroid cancer." Emma said quietly.

"Oh, wow!" The new girl looked impressed. "Hey, what are your hobbies? I like horseback-riding and watching anime, and I like reading and video games!"

"No way..." Emma looked surprised. "I like all of those things, too! Do you have horses, Sara?" She asked suddenly.

Sara nodded. "Yeah, we've got two, Toby and Chiv - hey, you should come over and ride sometime! My Mum and I could teach you!"

"Really?" Emma tried her best not to look _too_ excited, and failed miserably. "That'd be _so_ cool! I've always wanted to learn how to ride!"

"Then it's settled." Sara grinned. "Hey, what're your favourite animes? Mine are Sailor Moon and Inuyasha."

"I like Sailor Moon, too!" Emma grinned. "I also like One Piece."

"Yes, well, I should think so." Franky nodded.

"Franky, I hate to say it, but you sounded just like like somebody's Mum when you said that." Usopp told him, and Franky cringed.

Robin smiled.

"Oh, yeah, my brother Ian watches that." Sara nodded. "You should watch Inuyasha - it's the best."

"Okay." Emma nodded, looking happy for the first time at school. "Hey, so, tell me about your horses. What breed are they? Colours? They're both geldings, right? Do you ride English, or Western?"

"Well, she seems to be happy." Robin commented, sitting back on a nearby bench. "I was a little worried, since Krystal, Mayling and Kimberly didn't go to this school with her, but..."

"But what?" Usopp asked, as they started to black out - again.

"We haven't heard anything about Kimberly _or_ Sara from Emma, which makes me think that something bad happens in regards to them." Robin said quietly.

"Oh dear..." Franky mumbled. "_Not_ super..."

* * *

**~2005: Home~**

"We're in a hospital." Luffy stated the obvious.

"Yeah, but why?" Nami wondered, then she noticed somebody that she recognized. "Oh, hey, wait a minute, there's Lee!" They all bounded over to the woman, who was pacing in front of a set of double-doors. A red light with a needle designed onto it was aglow atop the doors.

As Nami, Sanji and Luffy watched, the doors swung open, and Lee looked up hopefully.

A blonde-haired nurse came bustling out, and headed into another, nearby room.

Nami, as she watched the doors swing, time it carefully, and then leapt through, just as the doors swung shut behind her.

"Nami!" She heard Luffy cry, but she ignored him, and just followed her senses to a group of surgeons crowded around an operating table.

Nami carefully jumped up onto a shelf that was at the back of the table, and took a look. She wished that she hadn't.

Lying on the table, with an oxygen mask over her face, was Emma. The fifteen-year-old was under general anaesthetic but, what _really_ made Nami feel squeamish was the fact that she was also under the knife. A large incision was in her throat, and the doctors were busy taking out a large, reddish-coloured organ from the right side of it.

"Place that in the thyroid bed." One of the surgeons was saying, as something white was placed into the now hollow chamber at the right side of Emma's neck.

_Eww..._ Nami thought, not understanding _why_ Law loved performing surgery so much. She wondered if he'd ever done this before, and how Chopper would react to it.

"Now, close the strap muscles with a single figure of eight suture." The surgeon instructed. "And then one, or at most, two, around the outside..."

"Doctor, we have intense bleeding around the first row of stitches!" A female surgeon suddenly said.

_I can't watch anymore of this..._ Nami thought, going to step off of the shelf, and ending up falling instead. As a row of gauze bandages dominoed their way down. _And, I'm SO glad that Luffy and Sanji didn't just see that!_ She added, as she whited out.

* * *

**~2006: School~**

"There she is." Franky recognized Emma, who was walking through the crowds of students, towards a group of girls, one of whom was Sara.

"Hey." Emma greeted Sara, but she looked slightly nervous.

"Oh." Sara glanced at her. "Hey...oh, wait, Amy, sue the red one, not the blue one!" She was showing Amy how to make braided bracelets.

"I-I got you a present." Emma said shyly, holding out the wrapped gift (she had done her best to wrap it but, let's face it, she was no wrapper). "Our Japanese class got to go to Rottnest last week, and so I got you something for your birthday."

"Oh, umm, thanks." Sara mumbled, unwrapping a beautiful opal necklace, which she held up to the light, and then put back in the wrapping paper. "It's nice." She put the bundle in her dress pocket.

Emma frowned. "It's this week, isn't it? I didn't miss it?"

"No, you got it." Sara replied.

"Sara, _why_ have you been avoiding me?" Emma wanted to know.

Amy glanced up, interested.

"I haven't." Sara mumbled, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"Yes, you _have_." Emma insisted. "You see me coming down the corridor, and you turn and walk in the other direction. What did I do?" Emma looked hurt.

"Okay, you _really_ wanna know?!" Sara snapped, suddenly looking annoyed. "It's because _every_ time we're together, _all_ you can talk about is horses this and horses that! It's starting to get really annoying! Like, who _cares_ that you learned to do a rising trot? I've been able to do that for years!"

"But, Sara..."

"You know, I'm beginning to think that the only reason you wanted to come over all those times was so that you could ride Toby." Sara added, crossing her arms.

A range of expressions flitted across Emma's face, including hurt, anger and betrayal. "Yeah?" She put her hands on her hips. "I'm beginning to think that the only reason _you_ became friends with _me_ was because you were new and didn't have anybody else! now, you're tossing me aside like a piece of paper! No offence, Amy."

"None taken."

"Yeah, well, at least I can make friends on my own." Sara said, raising an eyebrow. "Unlike _you_."

Emma gasped, and then she turned and ran away from the situation, muttering how it was just like with Kimberly, and how everybody kept on leaving her.

"i hope Mayling and Krystal don't decide to ditch me, too..." She muttered.

"Don't worry, Emma-Nee-Chan," Franky said, as their world began to shift. "They won't..."

* * *

**~2006: Home~**

"Where are we now?" Sanji wanted to know, as they stood on the grass outside of a house that was the only one lit up on the otherwise dark street.

"I dunno, but here comes a car." Nami pointed out, as a dark blue car pulled up in the driveway, and Emma and her Father got out.

They were walking very slowly, and Emma stopped before she reached the door.

Bruce placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, and said: "Come on, let's go in." He opened up the front door, and they walked inside the house.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy followed them quickly in, to avoid being shut outside, and walked across the hard wooden floors, and into a living room.

Three people were sitting on the couch, and all three of them were crying - one was Emma's Aunty, one was her mother, and one was her sister.

Emma took one look at her sister, and her own tears started up. She hugged her sister, and their parents put their arms around them, in a group hug. Emma then hugged her Aunty, who was intellectually handicapped. She had lived with her Mother for all of her life, but that would never be the case, ever again.

"I want to see her..." Emma whispered.

Lee wordlessly took Emma's hand, and led her down the hallway.

Luffy, Sanji and Nami followed them, into the room at the end of the hallway.

Lee's other sister Bev, and Bev's daughter, were standing on either side of a bed, where an elderly woman lay, unmoving.

"Nanna..." Emma sobbed, as tears flowed freely down her face. She knelt by the bedside, and buried her face in the sheets, unable to do much else. Lee could only comfort her daughter with a hand on her shoulder, as she too was struggling to cope with losing the woman that had held all of their lives together for so many years.

"So this is what happened..." Nami whispered, surprised to find tears in her own eyes, but she guessed that, after knowing Emma for the amount of time that she _had_, seeing her in this kind of pain was going to be almost unbearable. "Poor Emma..."

Sanji nodded silently, but he couldn't help but wonder _why_ they were being shown all of this.

As they began to white out again, Luffy posed the question: "How much longer are we going to be doing this for?"

* * *

**~2007: School~**

"Is that...Emma?" Usopp blinked.

"_Our_ Emma-Nee-Chan?" Franky stared.

"She certainly looks quite different now, doesn't she?" Robin mused, taking in Emma's black eye-shadow, black headband, black nail polish and doubley-pierced ears.

Seventeen-year-old Emma was currently getting in trouble for her excessive fashion statements. She was ordered to take off the make-up and nail polish, and Robin followed her to the girls' bathroom again, where she locked herself in a stall that had its own sink.

Meanwhile, two other girls stepped into the bathroom.

"How'd you go with your ECS exams?" One of the girls asked, as she began to check her hair in the mirror.

"Okay." The other girl replied. "What about you? How'd your food-N-nut prac. go?"

"Yeah, it was good." The first girl replied, now running a brush through her blonde hair. "Couldn't _believe_ we got stuck with _Emma_ in our group, though." She added.

_Oh no._ Robin though, sitting up high on the window-sill. Emma, who was hidden away in the last stall, had paused in the removal of her eye-shadow, and was now silently staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"I mean," the first girl went on. "Can you _believe_ she's started wearing _make-up_ now? Does she think that will make her more popular?"

"It's black, and she's goth." The second girl said flatly, shrugging. "Do you remember the dress that she wore to the year ten dance? She was so pale back then. That dress just looked terrible."

"Yeah, and the worst part was, she _thought_ she looked good." The first girl responded. "Did you hear what she said to Shane when he asked her out?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't being serious." The second girl reminded her. "He was just bullshitting - nobody would ask Emma Pax out."

"Yeah," the first girl agreed, and then snickered. "She can't even cook. Like, in the prac., she was saying how _she_ knew how to cook cannelloni. And I said, well, it's conchiglioni, so shut up, you know?"

As the second girl giggled, Robin wondered: _Aren't they the same thing, but one has tubes and one has shells?_

Robin just shook her head, and watched as the two girls left. She turned, and watched as Emma sank down onto the floor of the bathroom stall, and took out a red and black MP3 Player.

She turned on the music, and Robin could hear it clearly, at the volume that it was. It was some heavy metal song, and Robin smiled, as she started to black out. So, _this_ was when the heavy metal love had started...

* * *

**~2007: Home~**

"You're going to fail if you keep doing this!" Bruce was saying to Emma, who was standing there, staring defiantly at the floor.

Nami, Sanji and Luffy watched on in silence. This was going to be a very bad argument, they could tell.

"I _did_ the assignment, but Ms. Glendinning wouldn't let me finish my speech." Emma mumbled. "She said that it was too long..."

"She is your _teacher_, and you _will_ do as she says." Bruce said firmly, crossing his arms.

"Wow, he's stressed." Sanji commented, and when Nami and Luffy just looked at him, he said: "It's a man thing - just look in his eyes."

"I'll...take your word for it." Nami replied, watching as Bruce stooped down to pick up a book that was lying on the floor.

"Look at this!" He angrily brandished the book, and Emma took a few steps back. "I've _told_ you not to leave this shit lying around where Aunty Cheryl can trip on it, because that would be _all_ we'd fucking need!" He began to tear the book up.

"No, Dad, stop!" Emma shouted, stepping forwards and reaching for the book.

She never even saw it coming. Bruce's hand whipped across her face, sending her reeling backwards, and her hand flew to her face, her face a mask of shock and horror, as tears slowly gathered in her eyes.

"I'm fucking sick of this!" Bruce muttered angrily, throwing the book down and then turning and walking away.

Emma sank to her knees, and her tears dripped unhindered onto the bamboo flooring.

"Emmy..." Luffy said, stepping up to her.

"She can't hear you, Luffy." Nami reminded him gently, also wishing that she could comfort Emma. She kind of knew how she felt, after all.

"No, but..." Luffy suddenly got an idea and, as Sanji watched, he quickly rearranged the torn up pieces of book into a (lop-sided) heart with wings.

Sixteen-year-old Emma sniffled, and then happened to glance down, and saw the symbol. She gasped, and looked all around her but, of course, there was nothing there for her to see. She smiled a bit, though, as she quickly messed up the papers to avoid anybody seeing them.

Luffy also smiled, looking happy with his handiwork, but Nami slapped him upside the head, with her paw. "You _baka_! Do you know what you've just _done_?!" She asked him angrily, as they began to disappear.

"Yeah - I just made our nakama feel better." Luffy replied.

"WRONG!" Nami shouted. "You just created an ontological paradox!"

"A who now?"

"She means that you messed up the space-time-continuem." Sanji supplied.

"The where and the when now?"

* * *

Emma, Ace and Law hopped up the steps, which had a smooth reddish-brown tile. _Too_ smooth.

Law, who was at the top of the steps already, turned around, and called encouragingly to Emma: "Your front legs are for pulling, and your back legs are for pushing." He then reached down again, and pulled her up by the scruff of her neck.

"Thanks." She said, smiling at him, as he fussily adjusted her ribbon.

"Hey, what about me?" Ace complained - he was still only halfway up the stairs.

"You get up by yourself, Firefist." Law replied flatly, as Emma wandered off, still in search of her Nanna.

"You don't like me, do you?" Ace glared up at Law.

"What was your first hint?" Law asked sarcastically.

"Emiko is _mine_." Ace reminded him.

"Would you stop saying that?" Law asked him, as he finally reached the top of the stairs.

"Just don't forget it." Ace told him.

"It won't matter anyway." Law muttered.

"What was that?" Ace gave him a Look.

Suddenly, they heard Emma scream - _really_ scream - and both of the male cats took off running in that direction, side-by-side.

When they got to where she was, however, they both froze, and stared, in complete and utter horror and shock.

On the top floor of the hotel, was Emma.

Surrounding her were strange creatures - they looked like monsters crossed with dinosaurs crossed with bugs. Their eyes were red, and glittered malevolently.

One was holding onto Emma, and had its pincer-like claw around her throat.

Emma looked at Ace and Law, her eyes unfocused. "Help...me..."

* * *

"Whoa, weird place..." Luffy said, looking around at the pink and red and black landscape.

"No time to admire the atmosphere!" Nami snapped. "What _is_ this place?!"

"It's a realm between realms." Said the same male voice that they had heard before, and they looked to see the man in the white cloak. "The time has come for you all to be reunited...well, for the _most_ part, anyway."

"And what does _that_ mean?" Sanji asked, just as a female voice spoke up from behind him.

"It means that I have three of your friends right here."

"Mellorine!" Sanji cried, turning around quickly, and gazing up at the black-cloaked woman. He caught a glimpse of a soft face, with freckles scattered across her nose, before he looked back down, and saw Franky, Robin and Usopp standing next to the woman.

"Hi, guys." Usopp said easily.

"Robin-Chwan!" Was Sanji's response, as he tried to nuzzle up against the black cat, but she simply side-stepped and briefly bumped-heads with Nami, who looked happy to see her again.

"What about the others, though?" Luffy asked. "Ace and Emmy and Zoro...?"

"They're busy, right now." The man with the gruff voice said. "Meanwhile, you lot still have things to see."

"Only now, you will see them together." The woman said, as all six of the cats began to vanish.

* * *

**~2008~**

Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Franky appeared in the same house as before.

"We're back in Emma's house." Nami looked around her.

"Oh, so _this_ is Emma-San's house..." Robin mused, just as a seventeen-year-old version of Emma herself appeared, with her parents.

"Okay, let's sit down." Bruce suggested, and they all sat at the table.

"I'm sorry...so sorry..." Emma was saying, as she clasped her hands in her lap. She was wearing black jeans, and Disturbed t-shirt. She was frowning, and looked upset with herself. "I...I don't ever...want to take Ritalin, ever again..." She was clenching her fists under the table. "Ever..."

"But, Emma, you _need_ them." Lee said. "You have ADD, and you can't concentrate without them."

"I don't care!" Emma said. "I...I let you guys down, and cost you two thousand dollars..."

"Which you still owe us." Lee reminded her.

"She sounds like you, Nami." Usopp narrowed his eyes.

"Shut up!"

"I-I know." Emma muttered. "So...I'm going to get a job...at the newsagency...w-with Nee-San..."

"She's calling her 'Nee-San' now." Nami whispered.

"Mmhmm." Franky nodded.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Bruce said calmly, sighing. "We're proud of you for deciding to go off the tablets."

"Yes, it was my choice." Emma nodded.

"Just let us know how you're doing from now on, okay?" Lee asked her.

Emma nodded again. "O-okay..."

"And stop stealing." Lee added, and Emma cringed. "We know that you were stealing your sister's Dexamphedamine..."

"I-I'm sorry..." Emma muttered. "Really..."

"Didn't Law say something about a chemical in-balance?" Nami asked, and then realised that nobody else knew what she was talking about, since they hadn't heard the conversation. She sighed. "I think she would have acted differently when she was on that medication."

The others nodded, as the world around them started to turn grey.

* * *

**~2009~**

Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Franky appeared in the middle of a busy street, and had dodge a steady flow of traffic.

"Th-that was close!" Luffy panted, once they were safely on the footpath. "_Shishishi_..."

"We almost ended up as road-kill!" Nami agreed, shaking her head.

"This world is _super_ strange!" Franky stated, watching the cars go by. "I hope we get to come back here for _real_, sometime!"

"I think we're back in Fremantle..." Sanji said, looking around him.

"I just wanna know when these weird time-warps are gonna end." Usopp grumbled, just as a figure walked 'through' him. "Yikes!"

"I can't _believe_ you did that, Emma!" Sarah was saying, as they shut up the shop. "That's _stealing_, and you know it!"

"But, it was an accident!" Emma exclaimed, actually wringing her hands. "I added up my time-book wrong, and got the wrong numbers! You know how I am with maths!"

"How the Hell did you get five hundred and twenty-two out of four-hundred and seventy-five?!" Sarah snapped, turning around to place her hands on her hips. "Mum and Dad aren't the _only_ ones you have to worry about - Chandra is _furious_!"

"But it was an _accident_, Nee-San!" Emma insisted. "_Please_ don't tell our boss, I'll pay the money back, or he can deduct it from my next pay, or _something_!"

"No." Sarah shook her head. "You'll pay the money back, but you're being let go."

"What?" Emma gasped, as the six cats stared up at her from the side of the footpath. "How come?"

"Chandra's selling the business - we're _all_ being let go." Sarah said. "That's why I got that job at LJ Hooker. You should start looking for a new job, too - just don't _steal_ from them."

"But it was an _accident_!" Emma snapped.

"What did you spend all of your money on, anyway - more Transformers?" Sarah sneered.

"Shut up!" Emma snapped, and then looked past her sister, to where a young man was walking towards them. He was tall, with green eyes, and dark blonde hair. "Oh, hi, Mike."

Sarah turned around, suddenly with a big smile on her face. "Hi, Mikey-Moo!" She threw her arms around her boyfriend's neck and kissed him.

"What happened to Ben?" Usopp asked, as the six cats tried not to watch the kissing - it was excessive.

"She must not have met him yet." Nami replied, as they started to grey out.

"Oh no, not again..." Usopp groaned.

"I should think that you'd be used to it, by now." Nami replied.

Robin was smiling. "Nami-Chan, you can't live without Usopp-Kun, can you?"

"_What_?!"

* * *

**~2010~**

Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Franky fell into an unfamiliar room.

"Okay, _really_, we need to start carrying around cushions!" Nami declared.

"Yeah but, once again, _you're_ on top!" Usopp complained, as they all started trying to detangle themselves from each other.

"Okay, so where are we, now?" Luffy wondered.

"A hospital room, by the looks of it." Franky stated, looking at the white-sheeted bed, and the heart monitors and such.

"Oh, I hope it's not another operation..." Nami muttered, as they crept around the corner of the room and took a look at the occupants.

"Hey, there's Emma." Usopp nodded to her. "But, whose baby is she holding?"

Nami glanced at Emma, and then over at the hospital bed. "Well, that's Rickie-Lee, there, so...that must be Bella...when she was newborn." She added, judging by the reddish-pink skin and the size of the infant in Emma's arms.

"She doesn't look very comfortable, does she?" Robin mused, as she leapt carefully up onto the bed, being careful not to jostle Rickie-Lee.

Nami followed suit, but the male cats stayed on the floor.

"Oh dear, she's not doing it right..." Nami commented, seeing that Emma was struggling to hold the newborn.

"How can you tell?!" Luffy called from the floor.

"I just can!" Nami called back and, just then, Bella began to cry.

"See, you made her upset, Nami!" Luffy accused her.

"She can't even _hear_ me, _baka_!" Nami snapped.

Just then, Rickie-Lee managed to lean forwards - it was a real test, since she was so large, even for a pregnant woman. "Is she okay? She looks like she's gonna drop her."

Nami gasped. "Oh no, she did _not_..." She narrowed her eyes at Rickie-Lee, as Clinton took Bella off of Emma, who looked like she was struggling not to cry.

"Oh, Emma-Chwan...you poor thing..." Sanji sympathised, as their world began to turn grey.

"She'll learn one day." Franky said confidently. "They all do."

"And how do _you_ know that?!" Nami shouted.

"I just do." Franky replied calmly.

"Learn what?" Luffy asked.

Nami just groaned.

* * *

**~2011~**

Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Franky landed roughly in the activity room of Emma's house. In the present day, it held a couch, and a lot of kitchen appliances). In 2011, however, it had only a chest of drawers, and a mattress.

Sitting on the mattress, with her legs tucked up to her chest, was Emma. The mattress barely had anything on it, save for two sheets and one blanket. The pillow looked like it had seen better days.

"Why's she just sitting there?" Luffy looked around. "Where's all her stuff?" He went over to her nearby bedroom door and, despite everybody's warnings, managed to jump up and latch onto the door handle with his paws. "Hey, it's locked! It won't open!"

"What?!" Sanji came over, as well. "Let me try!" He did and found, to his shock, that it _was_ locked.

"But, what about all of her clothes?" Nami glanced back at Emma.

"And her books." Robin added. "There's nothing in this room, really..." _I can understand how this might feel for her..._

Just then, footsteps approached, and Lee and Bruce came into the activity room. Bruce brushed aside the makeshift door, which Emma had made with an old towel.

"You're not allowed to have a door, you don't deserve one." He told her.

When Emma didn't reply, Lee said: "This is for your own good, you know. How does this make you feel?"

"I dunno." Emma shrugged.

"You should have been making more of an effort - when we let you use the computer, you just recreate." Lee told her. "Do you even _want_ a job?"

"I don't know." Emma muttered.

"Come out." Lee said - it wasn't a question.

Emma got up and followed her parents, holding her writing book and a small, stubby pencil.

Along the way, Bruce said: "You didn't get a job when we told you to, and you haven't been making any effort - what are you going to do about this?"

"I don't know." Emma replied sullenly.

Her Father suddenly stopped, and grabbed her by the shoulders, slamming her up against the wall, to the shock of the cats who were watching.

"_Stop fucking saying that_!" Bruce shouted.

Emma's face had gone pale, and she had started to shake. Tears fell down her face, as Lee gently detached her husband's hands from Emma's shoulders. But, when Emma tried to hug her, Lee turned away.

"Go out to the family room." She ordered Emma, who went without question.

"Holy God..." Usopp muttered.

"How the Hell could he _do_ that to her?!" Sanji wanted to know, looking annoyed. "Emma-Chan's his _daughter_, for crying out loud!"

"At least now we know why she acts the way she does." Nami said suddenly, as they started to vanish. "What did you guys see?"

"School." Franky and Usopp said in unison.

"And?" Nami wanted to know.

"She's probably never really felt safe _anywhere_." Robin replied calmly, as they all vanished.

* * *

**~2012~**

Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Franky appeared in the middle of a dark street, and all of them jumped when a door suddenly slammed from a house that they had suddenly appeared in front of.

"Oh dear, _now_ what?" Nami wondered, as Emma and Lee came out of the house, talking in hushed voices.

"Mum, are we leaving?" Emma asked. They noticed that she was pale.

"No..." Lee was tense - her hands were clenched. "Oh God, I wish your Father was here..._why_ did he have to work _tonight_?"

"What do you think is wrong?" Emma asked. "Who was that guy...Ben, was his name? The friend who dropped Sarah off...?"

"I think that they're a little bit more than just friends." Lee muttered grimly. "Did you catch that scent though, Emma?"

"That weird scent on him, and her?" Emma asked. "I thought that was alcohol."

"It was, but there was something else on them, as well."

"What was it?"

"Marujana."

Just then, there was a blood-curdling scream from inside the house, making all six of the cats jump.

The front door slammed open, and they all noticed Mike, who was being pushed out of the house by Sarah. Her eyes were wild, and she was screaming unrepeatable things, in a blood-curdling, banshee-like scream. Basically, she was telling him to fuck off, and get out of _her_ house.

"Well, _that_ certainly changed quickly." Sanji commented, gulping, as Sarah attempted to hit both her Mother and Mike, before she demanded her phone back.

"Who has my phone?!" Sarah snapped. She suddenly noticed Emma, standing at the end of the driveway, and took a step towards her.

"Don't you go near her!" Lee said, quickly placing herself between her two daughters. Right now, Sarah was the last person she was afraid of.

Sarah pushed past her Mother but, instead of running at Emma (which Sanji had to admit, he had briefly been afraid of), she had grabbed her Mother's keys, and was attempting to get at the car.

When Lee tried to stop her, there was a scuffle, in which both Lee and Sarah (and the car) were scratched, and Mike went back into the house and quickly called his Mother, who lived nearby.

Emma, meanwhile, was standing stock-still on the driveway, and could only watch as Sarah took off running into the night.

Lee didn't seem to be able to go after her, but Mike's Mother, Sue, said that she'd do it. Meanwhile, his Dad, Steve, started having a go at Lee, saying that it was her 'bloody daughter's' fault and everything. Sue presently came back, told Steve to go home, and then went back into the house to take care of her son, leaving Lee to go and find her eldest daughter.

Meanwhile, Emma was sitting on the driveway, which had only been built a month ago, just after the once happy couple had moved in.

"I thought that she loved him..." Emma whispered, just as there was a shout from the park nearby.

"_Emma_,_ help_!"

Emma gasped, and jumped up, running into the darkness.

"There she goes." Nami said, watching her go, as everything started to turn grey again.

"I had no idea she'd had to deal with this." Usopp admitted.

"None of us did." Sanji said. "She kept it all inside of her..."

"Secretive..." Nami agreed. "I think that all of us here can understand that."

"Aye." They all agreed, as they all vanished.

* * *

**~2013~**

Nami, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, Sanji and Franky found themselves standing in a classroom.

"Hey, it's Emmy's TAFE place!" Luffy realised, looking around happily at the familiar place.

"And, _there's_ the Emma-Chwan that we all know and love." Sanji pointed out, to where everybody was crowded around Emma's computer.

"Hey, there's Georgia." Usopp noticed the other red-head, who was sitting nearby. She _wasn't_ one of the ones crowded around Emma's computer, but she kept glancing over, as if interested.

Emma, meanwhile, was showing everybody how to convert a SWF file to a PDF file.

"So," she said, her voice shaking slightly, but she seemed to know what she was doing. "You just click _here_, and th-that's how you can link all of the resources to it, otherwise it won't play the s-sound, which is what we w-want." She then clicked on the imported folder, and some animation began to play. "S-see?"

"Oh, wow." Christine said.

"That's so cool." Charlotte added.

"So that's how you do it!" The lecturer declared. He grinned. "Great job - star pupil, Emma!"

Emma blushed, and swallowed. She didn't smile, but the cats knew instantly that she was pleased. As the crowd dispersed, Emma clicked on a different page, and a picture of a heart with wings appeared.

"You see?!" Nami glared at Luffy. "You created an ontological paradox when you moved that paper around back there!"

"I did _not_!" Luffy protested, jumping up onto the desk next to Emma. "See? It's from that show she watches, Cardcaptures Sasakura."

"That's _Cardcaptor_ _Sakura_," Sanji corrected him, also jumping up there. "And...oh, look at this!" All of the cats carefully jumped up onto the desk, so as not to disturb any of the papers belonging to either Emma or Christine. "Look at that other box on the computer screen - it says that she's passing all of her courses!"

"Our little genius." Nami smiled, as they began to grey out. Her face fell. "And, she's going to be failing her course, since she's in our world..."

"Do you think that she wants to go back?" Luffy wondered, and they all exchanged a glance.

* * *

"What do we do?" Ace couldn't take his eyes off of Emma or, more to the point, off of the monster strangling her.

"If we go in there, we get killed." Law stated bluntly. "But, if we _don't_..."

"Then Emiko dies." Ace finished.

The two male cats nodded, and prepared to pounce at the creatures (there were four of them) but, just then, there were a series of flashes of light.

Luffy appeared in red, Nami in yellow, Usopp in brown, Sanji in dark blue, Franky in light blue, and Robin appeared in pink.

"_M-Minna_!" Emma gasped, trying to push herself away from the creature that had her, but he squeezed tighter. "_Minna_..." She whispered.

Luffy suddenly leapt forwards, and clamped his jaws onto the thing's arm. It howled, and began trying to shake him off its arm. This caused him to let go of Emma, who landed near Robin and Nami, who immediately began to help her up.

The others, meanwhile, were facing the creatures, as Luffy landed near to them.

"Okay, so, what _are_ those things?" He asked, and then he gasped. "Eww, yuck, my mouth!" He spat something out, that he had managed to snag off of the creature._  
_

They looked at the thing.

"It looks like...a cell?" Usopp (who was all the way over the other side, as far away from the battle as he could get) called, squinting. And, when the others looked at him, he added: "What? Chopper showed me a picture one time..._once_." he added, when Nami shuddered.

Law agreed. "It is. But, that one doesn't look too healthy..."

"Of course..." Emma gasped, as Ace came over, and nudged her carefully, to see if she was alright. "Those things..."

"Look at the ribbons on their necks." Robin commented.

"I didn't notice them before," Emma admitted. "But, now I do..._whoa_!" She cried suddenly, as one of the monsters lunged for them, and one managed to clip Sanji's shoulder.

"What? What about them?" Nami asked quickly, as they all jumped out of the way.

"I think..." Law, who had caught on, began, and a monster lunged at him, heading for his side.

Emma ran, and pushed him out of the way, and they hit the wall. The first monster came for Emma's throat again, but Ace latched onto the back of its stick-like leg, and it became distracted, allowing Emma and Law to escape.

The fourth monster kept trying to go for their chests.

"This one's got a pink ribbon." Nami commented, as she dodged.

"That's the breast cancer awareness ribbon." Emma informed them. "Clear is lung cancer, and..."

"Black is melanoma." Robin stated calmly, expertly dodging the attacks of the one that kept on going for their shoulders.

"So then, these things represent cancer?" Usopp guessed.

Emma nodded, and narrowed her eyes at the one with the blue, pink and teal ribbon. "_That_ one's thyroid cancer - that one's _mine_ to defeat."_  
_

"And, how do you intend to do _that_, Emiko?" Ace wanted to know.

"Umm...I dunno, but we'll think of something!" Emma replied.

"Perhaps..." Robin mused, and Law glanced at her. "If we can locate their weak spots, then...?" She glanced at Law.

"We might be able to defeat them if we attack _them_ where _they're_ attacking _us_?" Law guessed.

Robin nodded. "Pretty much."

"Okay." Law took charge all of a sudden. "Luffy and Usopp, you take skin cancer - aim for its shoulders. Robin, you and Nami take breast cancer - you know where to go. Sanji, you and Franky have got lung cancer - both sides." He narrowed his eyes at the last one. "Firefist and I will..."

"No, I'll do it by myself." Emma said suddenly.

"Emiko, let us help." Ace said. as the others set off to do what they had to do.

"I can do this." Emma said firmly, never taking her eyes off of thyroid cancer.

"_Hai_, we _know_ that, Emiko," Ace stressed. "But..."

Just then, thyroid cancer leapt at them and, without thinking, all three cats dodged, before coming back around to clamp onto the thing's neck.

It let out a howl, as did the others, and then all four cancers collapsed, into twitching and horribly oozy messes.

"Umm, okay, eww." Nami commented, trying to shake the cancer blood off of her, and Usopp looked horrified, Luffy was poking at skin cancer, and Emma was just shaking her head in disbelief.

Law nudged her neck. "_Ne_, are you okay, Emiko?"

"_H-hai_..." She replied, gazing up at him, just as Twister appeared.

"Very good..." The god praised them.

"It's _you_!" Nami exclaimed. "Do you know where we are, and why we're here?!"

Twister nodded. "Yes - this is all a test." He waved his scythe, and the cancers went flying out of the window. They landed with four very audible splashes in the pool. He then turned to Emma. "You managed to defeat Coby - I am impressssssed, but you ssstill have many obstaclesss that you mussst overcome." He waved his scythe, and Emma became a human. "Now, I will return you to Kuina for your final tessst."_  
_

"So, it _was_ Kuina." Franky realised, as they all started to vanish, in rainbow light.

"Told you." Robin replied.

* * *

Kuina (in Tashigi's body) raised her head, and said: "Oh."

The eight cats, and Emma, had suddenly appeared, blinking around them at the church.

Chopper looked thrilled. "You guys!" He cried, running to them.

Even Georgia smiled. "Oh, so you passed the test?"

"Not quite." Nami stated, glancing at Kuina, who had stood up, and placed Zoro on the chair. "Twister said that we had one more test to face..."

"Yes." Kuina nodded. "But, it is not you." She pointed to Zoro. "It is him."

"He's your childhood best friend and rival, isn't he?" Emma questioned, stepping forwards.

Kuina laughed shortly. "Ha! Rival, nothing. I beat him, all two thousand and one times." Her face softened. "But...we had made a promise, on that day...one of us would become the world's greatest swordsman...for me, that dream ended. Here, catch." She tossed the compass to Emma, who caught it and, suddenly, everybody was a human (or, in Chopper's case, a reindeer-human) once more. "Let me ask you guys something." She said, in a serious voice. "What did you learn about Emma, when you saw her past?"

Emma was horrified, and turned to the others. "She...she _showed_ you my _past_?" She gasped. "Oh-em-gee, no, no, _no_..." She buried her face in her hands, and so didn't see Kuina's smile.

"Who'll go first?"

"I'll go." Nami volunteered. "Emma's shy, and meek, and can be kind of a jellyfish at times."

"Oh, okay, so I'm _not_ perfect, but you guys are supposed to be my friends!" Emma complained.

"But, she's getting a _lot_ better at standing up for herself." Nami flicked Emma's forehead, with a smile. "She's alright."

Emma looked surprised.

"Yeah." Usopp nodded. "Sure, she's scared of certain things, like centipedes. But, she's always there for others, when they need her."

"Thanks Usopp..." Emma mumbled.

"She's got a kind heart." Sanji stated. "She's a good girl, no matter _what_ anybody else says."

"Thanks, Sanji-kun...I think..."

"My turn!" Luffy volunteered, raising his hand. "Okay, umm...so, she doesn't like cleaning and housework and stuff...oh, and one time, her sister hit her, but she loves her sister, and I bet she wants to be more like her, but not the screaming and swearing stuff!"

Emma was banging her head against the pew - Law had to stop her from doing that.

"Emma-Nee-Chan, that's bad for you." Franky told her. "After all, you've had plenty of medical problems, after all, so you need to take care of yourself. You tend to put others first though, because you think that you're not good enough, don't you, little Nee-Chan?"

"I guess so." Emma replied, as Law placed an arm across her shoulders.

Ace glared at him, and Robin decided that it was time for her to go.

"Emma-San has trouble trusting people." She said. "She tries to shut them out and keep them at a distance, to avoid being hurt again." The archeologist calmly gazed at Emma, with a small smile. "She believes that, by doing so, she'll protect herself when, really, she just wants to be loved. She wants to trust people. She wants it desperately." _I understand, Emma-San - I understand it, and you know that. _Don't_ shut us out - keep on letting us in, just like you have been..._

Emma nodded silently, with tears pouring down her face. She turned, and buried her face in Law's shoulder, and he hugged her.

"You _did_ learn something - good job." Kuina said. She glanced behind her at Zoro, who was starting to stir. "I'll tell you something, though - not everybody is going to be able to leave here."

"_What_?!" A few people cried.

"Oh, don't worry." Kuina said. "You can still complete your mission to stop Infinity from destroying the worlds."

_What?_ Emma thought, narrowing her eyes at Kuina-Tashigi (Tashigi-Kuina?).

"You just need to decide." Kuina said. "Emma, or Zoro. One of them lives, and one of them gets to stay here with me."

"No way!" Nami and Luffy cried in unison.

Law and Ace were watching Emma, and they suddenly knew what she was about to say.

"I'll-"

"NO!" Law and Ace shouted in unison.

"Guys, it's fine!" Emma replied. "Come on, Zoro has a dream that he has to live out, don't you, Zoro?"

"Huh, what?" Zoro was still trying to wake up. "My dream...?"

"There, you see?" Emma shook her head, and took a step forwards. "Come on, she said that you could still complete your mission."

"But, what about _my_ mission?!" Ace and Law said in unison.

Emma stopped, and turned around. "Huh? What?"

"Emiko!" Ace grabbed her wrists. "What I was going to say, before we were all transported here...if _anything_ happens, no matter what, then _you_ are my dream!" Emma's eyes widened. "No matter what, I want _you_!"

Law was clenching his fists, but he didn't say anything, as the seconds ticked by.

Kuina suddenly spoke up again. "Okay then, how about this? You two just have to answer this question for me, okay?" They all just looked at her. "Okay, this is the question - what is Emma's dream?"

Everybody was silent for a minute, including Emma, who was just staring at the floor. _My dream? Wait, do I even _have_ a dream? What about all the stuff I said I wanted to be, back when I was a child? What about my graphic design course, and becoming an author and an illustrator? And...yet..._

"Well, _that_ one's obvious." Ace spoke up, and Law was smirking. "She wants to become..."

"Recognized as an adult." Law supplied.

"And, respected." Ace added.

"She wants to love," Law said.

"And to _be_ loved, by people she can trust, as Robin said." Ace nodded.

"She wants to be smart,"

"Strong,"

"Brave,"

"And, beautiful."

"Even though she already _is_." The two men said in unison.

"But, above all," Luffy suddenly spoke up, looking firm. His arms were crossed, and he was nodding. "Emmy wants to be _that_ kind of lady - you know, the _ultimate_ kind of lady, and everything. The one that people look up to and everything, and to _be_ something. For people to treat her like she's a _somebody_, rather than the _nobody_ that she thinks that she is."

Emma was staring at the three of them - at the two men that loved her, and at the one who considered her to be like an older sister/nakama - and nodded, with tears glistening in her eyes. "They're right...that...that is...my dream...pleas,e take me with you, you guys...Zoro and me, both..." She added, and glanced over at Kuina, who was smiling slightly.

"Well, you missed out on a part but, congratulations." She said. "You passed...you _all_ passed...you can go back to your world, and continue with your mission now." She turned to Zoro. "I possessed this young woman's body, since I knew that you thought that she looked like me. But...before you go...and, before I return this woman's spirit to her body...may I ask...?" She suddenly held a sword in her hand.

Zoro blinked, looking surprised, but then he nodded, and reached for his swords. "You guys go ahead." He told the others. "I'll be awhile."

They all nodded and, although some of them wanted to stay and watch, they walked through the doors at the other end of the chapel.

"Just like old times, huh, Kuina?"

"Especially since you're about to lose, Zoro!"

* * *

Back in the real world, they got a surprise, to find a bunch of kids, and a skeleton cat.

"_Brook_?!" Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Luffy, Franky and Chopper all cried.

"Yohoho, hello!" Brook was a skeletal cat, and seemed happy to see them, despite not having any eyes. "I've missed you all so much!" He added. He then trotted up to Emma. "Are you the young lady who can turn me back into a human, even though I'm not a human anymore?"

Emma nodded. "Umm, y-yes, I am...?" _Wow, this is...weird..._

"Then, I have just one question for you." Brook smile cheerfully up at her, and alarm bells began ringing in Emma's head.

Nami and Robin looked over at Brook sharply.

"May I see-"

"_No_, may I see _your_ panties?!" Emma suddenly cried, pointing at Brook, and everybody stopped and stared at her in shock. She suddenly smiled, and sunk down to her knees. "Except, that...skeletons don't _wear_ panties, especially not skeleton cats! You're pretty lucky that there are no hungry dogs around Brook!"

They both started laughing, as the others just stared in amazement, except for Luffy, who was laughing with her.

"Amazing," Sanji just shook his head. "They just hit it off straight away."

Emma was happily hugging Brook. "_Cutie_!" She exclaimed.

"_Hey_!" Law and Ace both exclaimed.

Emma just smiled, and stood up, stepping back, and touching her hand to the compass. The reddish-pink light emitted from it and, quite suddenly, the nine-foot-tall skeleton in the suit was standing there.

"Good day." Brook tipped his hat to them all. "Or, should I say, good evening? I can't tell if there's an evening chill - because I'm a skeleton!" He, Emma, Luffy and Usopp all laughed.

"Okay, I did _not_ see that coming." Nami remarked, referring to Emma's liking to the talking skeleton but, well, at least she didn't hate him. "Anyways, so, where did all of these kids come from?"

"Gnikat erew ew...I mean, we were taking care of the skeleton-cat-thingie!" One of the kids called to them.

"I think that they were the little Piggie-Gremlins that we saw, but they're back to normal now..." Emma said, just as Bepo, Penguin and Shachi came into the clearing.

"Captain!" They all called to Law, who looked pleased to see them.

Then, a group of villagers came into the clearing, following the three Heart Pirates.

The kids all gasped, as did many of the adults, and then they ran to them. Parents and children embraced, and there was a lot of hugging and tears.

Nami smiled, as she and the others stood back.

"That's so sweet." Usopp commented, wiping his eyes.

"Why, Usopp, are you _crying_?" Nami teased him lightly.

"_No_!" The sniper lied, sniffling, and then swiping at his eyes. "I have..._allergies_..."_  
_

"Yeah, sure." Nami just rolled her eyes, and then she glanced at Emma, who was watching the kids and their parents. At first, Nami thought that Emma was thinking about her _own_ family, back at home, that is until Emma glanced at Law and Ace, and blushed.

Nami suddenly remembered that Kuina had said that Luffy, Law and Ace had not been able to guess _all_ of Emma's dream...and, suddenly, Nami was able to figure it out, exactly _what_ kind of lady that the red-head wanted to be.

She smiled. Hopefully, Emma would learn how to hold a newborn, then!

* * *

Just then, through the portal that was there and, yet, not there, Zoro came. He was holding Tashigi in his arms, and she was back to normal.

He also had blood covering one side of his face.

"Zoro, oh no!" Chopper cried, as they all hurried over to him.

"What happened?" Law calmly asked him, although he had a feeling that he already knew.

"I lost an eye." Zoro replied calmly.

"Did you at least _win_?" Emma asked, as almost everybody else gasped in horror.

"Hang on, how come _that's_ what you're worried about?" Nami scolded her. "You're so...I dunno, _into_ that sort of stuff!"

Emma shrugged. "I dunno. I wanted to be a vet-nurse when I was younger...I guess that I just got used to blood."

Law was smirking, but a few of the others were looking a bit squeamish, especially Nami, who was remembering the thyroidectomy!

* * *

**~Bali, 1998~**

"Mum, where are you?" Lee found her Mother standing on the top floor of the hotel, smiling about something. She joined her Mother at the window. "Mum, what are you...holy God, what happened to the pool?!" She cried, staring in shock and horror at the four horrific black shapes that were in the water. People down below were horrified.

Peg, however, was just smiling. "It's alright, Leonie," she said, nodding calmly. "It all got taken care of..." She glanced behind her, at the smiling short lady with the bright blue eyes. "Have faith, my dear child..." She added, putting an arm around Lee's shoulders. "For, beneath every fault, there is a saving grace..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Okay! So, it was all about Emma's past, pretty much! XD**

**. A yellow-eyed Georgia (first link when typed into Google) cats . animal - world Color - Pattern - Cats / TortoiseShellCat . php**

**. Freestyler, by Bomfunk MC OoO youtu . be / So _ pKHgP _ 1k**

**. A total thyroidectomy (warning - NOT for the faint-hearted, as nothing is blurred except for the guy's face!) OoO youtu . be / ZUhpivAkeHI**

**. Happy Mothers' Day, to all the Mothers and Mother-Fathers out there! ^^**

**. I had an ultrasound yesterday...because I found another weird lump, so I thought that I'd better go and get it checked out. I got my results back on a nice little compact disc but, unfortunately, I am not a doctor, and so I cannot read what it says! I'll have to wait until Monday to find out what it is! ^^ Oh well...**

* * *

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - okay, I won't force you to make the video, but the thought of Akainu doing THAT nearly made me choke on nothing - with laughter. XD And, yes, Law and Ace were at each others' throats again, in this chapter - literally. Thanks for the review!_

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - you were right, but the reason for their transformations will be revealed in the next chapter. ^^ Now, about your favourites list...lol, at Nami being a pervert. She was just being cautious, that's all! Ah, yes, I love Beauty And The Beast, too! I love Zuko and Toph, too! And, of COURSE Robin has morbid senses! I mean, she's, like, the _QUEEN _Of Morbidness! And, who can tell what the reviewers are thinking? This is worse than Team Edward and Team Jacob. *Gets shot at*__  
_

_Cocoa Liddell - don't worry, she'll sort herself out, soon...MAYBE... _ And, Ace and Law will get to have their says, as well. Thanks for reviewing!_

_MsWildLuck - yes, I got that one from Avatar! I loved Book Three! ^^ Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked those parts!_

_KaiF . Raphaella - suspense is what makes the world go around! Thanks for the review!_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - in Digimon Adventure 01, a weird spirit thingie possessed Hikari's body. This was kind of like that, but not really. And, yes, Zoro and Kuina got to have another battle! I bet that it was epic (I mean, come ON, Zoro lost an EYE!) but, sadly, we did not get to see it! :( Nuf si gniklat sdrawkcab. XD And, yes, lol, Law, you should have known better!_

_Firetrail - hmm...well, we'll just have to wait and see now, won't we? ^^_

_AiSoraix3 - yeah, I wanted to have some familiarity that people could relate to, but not an overload-of-overloads...just a normal overload was fine. :) Lol, Ace x Emma...well, we'll just see then, won't we? Thanks for reviewing! XD_


	26. Dawn Of A New Era

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Parental Warning - the following chapter contains:**

**. Moderate adult themes**

**. Moderate violence**

**. Low level sexual references**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Dawn Of A New Era

* * *

"Kuina was lonely." Zoro shrugged. "She wanted some company."

"That _still_ doesn't explain why she kidnapped all those kids." Nami stated, and Zoro glared at her. Nami cringed. "Yick…don't do that when you've only got one eye – it's creepy."

Zoro just rolled his eyes…eye.

"Now you look like Sanji." Usopp pointed out.

"Hey!" The cook cried, overhearing. "Don't relate him to me! I've got two eyes, I just choose to cover one of them."

"He's lying." Usopp stated.

"I am not and I'll prove it." Sanji said, and stalked off in the direction of the bathroom.

"Oh, _now_ you've gone and done it." Emma muttered, sitting back on the deck.

"Done what?" Usopp asked, just as Sanji came back, with his fringe covering his other eye, and the eye that was usually covered revealed, instead.

"Augh!" Usopp yelled, feigning fear. "It's not of this world!"

"It looks exactly the same as his other eye, Usopp." Nami stated.

"No, it's a demon eye!"

Everybody just stared at Usopp, as he went flying from a well-aimed kick from Sanji.

Meanwhile, Franky, who was at the helm, was talking to Robin.

"Do you think they're okay?" He wanted to know.

Robin nodded, a cool breeze ruffling through her raven locks. "Yes. I am sure that they will be fine. Luffy seems confident that we'll be alright."

"That he does." Franky agreed. "And, what about Emma-Nee-Chan? How's she holding up?"

Robin glanced over her shoulder, towards where Emma was sitting on the deck, staring out at the ocean. "In regards to what we just went through, I think she'll be able to handle it – it's the questions that she might not like."

And, as if on cue, Luffy approached Emma. "_Ne_, Emmy, why was your family always so mean to you?"

"_Baka_!" Sanji snapped, kicking Luffy's shin. "You can't just ask her that!"

"No, it's okay." Emma sighed, and then glanced across the deck at Ace, who was watching her. He hadn't exactly been keeping his distance but, since they'd left the island, he'd just been watching her from afar, as if assessing her. It was a little disconcerting, and she couldn't wait to get an opportunity to ask him about it, when they were alone. "You must've seen some pretty bad arguments…" _I wonder how much they saw…I don't want to ask them about it…_

"Yeah, even _my_ sister and I didn't argue as much as you and yours. I can't believe she hit you." Georgia commented, and now Emma cringed.

"You…you _saw_ all that?" She asked, turning slowly, to where the red-head was sitting back, relaxed, with her back to the mast.

Georgia nodded. "Yeah, Tashigi or Kuina or whoever the Hell it was showed us everything these guys were seeing. I saw it all, and so did the talking moose."

"I'm a reindeer!"

Emma closed her eyes briefly. "I…I don't know. Come on, you guys _must_ have seen _some_ good stuff!" She glanced desperately around at the others.

"Yeah, come on, you guys, they're not _that_ bad." Nami said. "Nojiko and I used to argue with Bellemere-San, and even with each other. Of course, I always used to win…there was this one time, she was trying to frame me for stealing this dress from the shop, but nobody believed me when I said that I didn't do it." She recalled the situation.

"I can't imagine why." Zoro rolled his eye.

"I'm telling you, it was my sister!" Nami protested.

* * *

"That's strange…" Nojiko muttered.

"What is?" Sumi asked her, glancing across at her.

"I have the sudden urge to hit my sister." Nojiko stated. She stared out at the ocean. "Or, at the _very_ least, scream bloody murder at her…" She narrowed her teal eyes.

"Why don't we call her?" Kaya suggested, and the other two girls agreed.

Marco and Vista, relaxing on the deck nearby, watched in mild amusement as the three friends made the call. Girls sure were interesting when they were together, that was for sure.

* * *

Emma jumped, when her Baby Den-Den Mushi started ringing. She answered it. "_Moshi-Moshi_?"

"Hi, Emma," Nojiko's voice said. "Can I speak to my sister."

"I'm sorry, Nojiko," Emma said, looking around the deck. "But Nami suddenly started running when she heard your voice – I think she has a guilty conscience."

"I do _not_!" Nami's voice yelled from the crows nest.

"A-ha!" Emma pointed upwards. "_There_ you are! Come back down here so that your sister can yell at you, Nami!"

"Make me!"

"I'll give Sanji-Kun items from your underwear drawer!" Emma threatened.

Sanji's face lit up.

There was the sound of running footsteps, and then Nami appeared. She snatched the pink and blue snail-phone from Emma, snapping: "_Give_ me that!" She then took the snail-phone and disappeared into the galley, but they could still hear Nojiko yelling at her.

"Sisters are scary." Emma and Georgia said in unison. They exchanged a glance.

"So, now where do we head?" Chopper asked, just as Zoro realised something.

"Hey, what happened to Johnny and Yosaku?" The swordsman wanted to know.

"Oh, that's right." A member of Law's crew spoke up. "They said they were going to go and chase a huge bounty somewhere in the South Blue. We gave them some advice, and they headed off not long after you guys went to that island."

"_Souka_…" Zoro nodded, like the news didn't surprise him that much. "So, anyway, who's got the answer to Chopper's question?"

Everybody exchanged a glance.

"We need to find Princess Vivi." Emma said firmly. Everybody turned to look at her. "I think she's the last member of our Alliance – I also think she's the Princess that we're looking for." She nodded.

Sanji was nodding. "It makes sense. Most of our other Allies have either been members of our crew…"

"Try _all_ of them." Usopp supplied.

"Or else it was Luffy's brother." Sanji finished.

"Yeah," Law spoke up calmly. "But, where do Emiko and I come into it."

A few people noticed the way Ace's fists clenched when Law called Emma 'Emiko', but he let it go, as Luffy spoke up with: "Well, because you and I are friends,"

"We're not friends."

"And the three of us," the Straw Hat Captain gestured to himself, Law and Ace. "Got saved by Emmy. That's why." He nodded firmly. "If the last member of our Alliance is Vivi, then we need to go and find her."

"There's just one problem." Robin spoke up, walking towards them. "Arabasta's Princess isn't _in_ Arabasta anymore – nobody knows where she is right now."

"That's a problem." Usopp agreed.

"I don't think it is." Ace said slowly, and they all turned to look at him. "I think that Vivi must have had some reason for disappearing like that, maybe something to do with the gods?" He glanced at Emma, who was nodding.

"And, if that's true," the hazel-eyed girl said, clasping her hands thoughtfully in front of her mouth. "Then they may have instructed her to go somewhere where _we_ would all know to go…"

"Like Dawn Island." Law said simply, and everybody was silent for a moment, considering this. It suddenly made perfect sense, even though there was no _real_ way of knowing for sure if that's where Vivi was.

However, after everything they had been through since meeting Emma and up until this point, it was suddenly blazingly obvious where they had to go.

Emma stood up, and walked towards the galley to save Nami from her sister's wrath and consult with the Whitebeard Pirates, and Ace and Law followed her.

* * *

That evening, Sanji served everybody dinner on the deck, since it was such a nice evening and since there were now so many of them.

Zoro was complaining to himself a little bit, wondering when they were going to get rid of all of the 'dead weight'. He sat by himself, drinking from a tankard, and getting used to the fact that he only had one eye now.

It was strange…so much was thrown off by the fact that he couldn't see out of his left eye, and he had no idea how it was going to affect his swordsmanship. He was itching to try it out…maybe after everybody had gone to bed…

"Zoro?"

Zoro jumped, and looked to his left – that was the only way he could see that Emma was standing there.

Emma looked sympathetic. "Still getting used to it, huh?"

"It's only been a day." Zoro sounded slightly annoyed.

"I guess so." Emma settled herself down on his right side. "You gonna do some training afterwards?"

Zoro shrugged. "I guess so." He took another swig from his tankard.

"How do you think it will go?"

"Dunno." Zoro shrugged again, and leaned back. "I'll find out shortly."

"You know…" Emma said thoughtfully, crossing her legs carefully as she gazed intently at the swordsman. "When Grandpa Garp was training me on the shooting range back home, he had me wear a blindfold as I was running through the sand…it was annoying and I nearly died, but I soon learned that relying on my eyes isn't always the best thing. Maybe you should give that a go?"

"Maybe…" Zoro mused, before glancing at her. "Hey, about what happened before…"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I was more worried about _you_."

"What for?"

"You know, because of…Kuina…" Emma muttered.

"I'm fine with that." Zoro assured her. "Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay." She offered him a small smile, which he returned.

"Hey, Emmy!" Luffy called from across the deck, making her look up at him. "Now that Brook's back, you two can entertain us with music!"

"What?" Emma cringed. "Do I _have_ to?"

"_Yes_." Luffy said firmly, although he was still grinning. "Brook says he knows some songs from your world!"

"What?" Emma said again, and scrambled over to where the tall skeleton was sitting with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper. "Hold on, Brook, _how_ do you know songs from my world? How?" She gazed intently up at him.

"Yohoho, well, _that_ is a story!" Brook said cheerfully. "When I was trapped in the very frightening realm of the dead, where no living thing was ever meant to roam – although, as you can see, I am not living anymore! – I was sent visions of you all, listening to music that I had never heard before! Sometimes, the songs were accompanied by a lovely voice!"

"That was Emmy's voice!" Luffy grinned.

"Oh, so it was you, Emma-San?" Brook asked her.

"Umm, yes?" She guessed, still feeling a bit embarrassed.

"So, with nothing else to do, I memorized the songs!" Brook informed her. He looked down at her (or, at least, she _assumed_ that he was, since he didn't have any eyes). "Do you understand?"

"Of course I do." She replied. "Music is my life." She added.

This seemed to make Brook's day. "Is that so?" He whipped his violin out of nowhere. "That just makes me so happy to hear that! We simply _must_ celebrate our connection with a song!"

"Wait, what song, what connection?!" Emma exclaimed, and then stopped talking, because Brook had started playing his violin, and she instantly recognized the song. "Oh…kay…" She sighed, and closed her eyes, listening to the song.

"_I dreamed of living,_

_Alone but fearless,_

_Secret longing,_

_To be courageous,_

_Loneliness kept,_

_Bottled up inside,_

_Just reveal your brave face,_

_They'll never know you lied,_

_Country road,_

_May lead me home,_

_Know I belong there,_

_All on my own, destiny calls,_

_Motionless, I stall,_

_Know I can't go,_

_Country road..._

_No matter how dark,_

_The world's inside me,_

_I'll never stop to show a tear that I've shed,_

_But now I have to walk so fast,_

_Running, sprinting to forget,_

_What is lodged, in my head_…"

When she opened her eyes again, she noticed that, thankfully, most people weren't looking at her – they were looking at Brook, and Emma suddenly understood why.

If the skeleton had still been a human, then he would have been crying tears of happiness.

He finished the song, and wiped away a non-existent tear. "That just moves me…so much…to hear beautiful singing…music is indeed wonderful…"

"Aww…" Emma swallowed, carefully touching the skeleton's arm. He looked down at her. "Brook, let's sing together some more, okay?" She looked around at everybody. "We can all sing…Binks' Sake?"

If Brook had still been a human, then his face would have lit up. As it was, he startled Emma with a sudden hug, much to Luffy's amusement and Ace and Law's slight annoyance.

Watching from a short distance away, Nami and Robin smiled. Only Georgia remained quiet. Nami and Robin thought that it was due to her feeling slightly left out, since she wasn't officially a part of the crew. She hadn't really tried to connect with anybody, whereas Emma had made an effort to get to know all of them, and Robin had a sneaking suspicion that she knew why.

* * *

That night, everybody retired at relatively the same time,, with the exceptions of: Zoro, who stayed up training, with his bandana tied around his eyes to begin his 'sixth-sense' training; Chopper; who fell asleep first; Emma, who fell asleep second, and was carried to her room by Law before Ace realised what was happening; and Nami, who retired early to ensure that Emma could sleep without either Ace or Law disturbing her.

Presently, the deck was empty, until a single, solitary figure crept across the deck. She was dressed all in black, after having "borrowed" some of Emma's clothes. Yeah, borrowed…

"Borrowing those clothes means that you intended to give them back."

Georgia jumped, and then spun around quickly, clutching her backpack, as she stared into the cool blue eyes of one Nico Robin. "You!" She gasped, looking caught out.

Robin merely regarded her, and then, when the red-head made no attempts to speak or explain herself, Robin did it for her. "Fine then, since you do not wish to tell me what you were about to do, then I will do it for you. You only intended to find out about our final destination in order to alert the Marines of where we would be going."

Georgia just stared at her, and then she sighed, and dropped her backpack to the desk. "Okay, so you're supposed to be some 'ultra smart scholar', aren't you?"

"Am I?"

"Don't get pedantic!" Georgia wasn't sure why she was snapping at a former assassin, but she wasn't really thinking. "Look, you should know by now that the Government knows where you're going, anyway!" She put her hands on her hips. "_That's_ why they're executing Ino on Dawn Island – _it's a trap_!"

"Why didn't you just tell us this before?" A voice said from behind Robin – it was Emma.

"I thought you were asleep." Georgia said.

"Somebody stole my favourite t-shirt." Emma replied flatly.

"So?" Georgia crossed her arms now. "I'm out of here."

"How far do you think you'll get without a proper boat and a navigator?" Emma wanted to know. "Even if we're not in the Grand Line, this is _still_ a dangerous place."

"So, what do you want me to do?" Georgia asked her, sounding slightly panicked now. "If I don't go back…"

Emma looked closely at her, and understood, but it was Robin who spoke up: "They'll hurt your sister, won't they?"

"They'll kill her."

Emma and Robin exchanged a glance, and then Emma said: "Robin-San, wake the crew – we have a problem."

"What are you guys going to do?" Georgia asked, nervously.

Emma turned to face her, and put her hands on her shoulders. "We're going to do what we do best – divert from our original course in order to end up at the same location with a slightly modified purpose."

"What?"

"We're going to help you!"

* * *

"If a few of us go ahead, we'll be able to help Georgia-Ya without endangering most of us." Law said – he seemed to have taken charge again, which _most_ people didn't mind. He nodded to Emma. "Emiko can help."

"How?" Nami asked. "Emma can't teleport to a place she's never been, not without her necklace."

"She doesn't have to." Law responded. "I was thinking more along the lines of…"

"Yin and Yang…" Emma muttered, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Of course…it'll be just like Whamon from Digimon 01…"

Georgia nodded, as everybody else just exchanged confused looks.

"Okay, so…who gets to go?" Nami asked.

"Are you volunteering?" Georgia asked her.

"I think some other people might want to go." Nami replied smoothly. "Like Luffy." She added, and her captain perked up.

"Yeah!" Luffy cried. "Yeah! Ace and I will go, since it's our home! We know our way around!"

"_You_ don't even know your way around the _ship_, Luffy." Nmai said scathingly, but she was nodding. "Okay, so if Luffy, Ace, Emma and Georgia are going, then that should be okay."

"Law-Chan has to come." Emma said suddenly, and everybody looked at her.

"Okay, why?" Nami wanted to know.

"Because he's a doctor." Emma replied.

"Then, why not Chopper?" Zoro asked knowingly.

"M-m-_me_?!" Chopper squeaked. "R-r-ride on a S-S-Sea King?! Oh no, no, noooo…"

"Relax," Robin said soothingly. "Nobody is going to make you go." She looked around at the others. "If the five aforementioned go, then that will leave Zoro in charge."

_We're doomed._ Nami decided, but she remained poker-faced.

"Yin and Yang should know how to get to Dawn Island." Ace said. "And, Nami can navigate there with the Thousand Sunny."

"Good plan." Nami approved. "Is everybody okay with this?"

There were a few nods here and there.

"You guys…don't have to help me, you know…" Georgia muttered.

"Yeah, we know." Luffy replied casually, yawning and stretching – he was tired. "But, if we don't do it, then who will? Besides, you're our friend."

_Friend?_ Georgia thought, and then glanced at Emma and Robin, wondering why the other two women had decided not to tell the others that Georgia had been intending to betray them. _I need to just put my trust in them, I guess…and, if I _don't_, and I try and hurt Emma, then Ace and Law will annihilate me…_

"Okay, Emmy!" Luffy grinned. "Go and call your Dragons!"

"They're _Sea_ _Kings_, Luffy." Emma rolled her eyes, as she got up. "And, let's just hope that it works."

"Emiko, I need to speak with you." Law said suddenly, also standing up. "Privately." He added.

As they walked off, Ace glanced wordlessly at Robin, who merely nodded, calmly. She would keep an eye on them – literally.

* * *

"What is it?" Emma asked – Law noticed that she was keeping her distance from him (she was all the way over the other side of the deck).

"Emiko…" Law regarded her carefully. "That song that Yin taught you…didn't you know it from before?"

"How did you…?"

"I saw it on your piano."

Emma frowned, slightly, looking more upset than annoyed. "I…I _know_…I was…hoping that it was just a coincidence, but…" She looked up at Law. "Law-Chan, I _know_ that song from somewhere…not just because I _wrote_ it, because…I think that I've _heard_ it somewhere before!" She fiddled with her hands. "But…how…?"

"Emiko…" Law carefully crossed the deck towards her and, when she didn't move away, he wrapped his arms around you. "_Daijoubu_, _watashi no amaku chiisa i tenshi_…"

_Did he just call me an angel_? Emma wondered, as she closed her eyes briefly. _And…why does this feel so…_right_? Like it's meant to be? But…what about Ace…? Damn it…_

Emma pulled away slightly, and began to sing quietly.

"_No one, could ever see,_

_The best of me,_

_Somehow, all I can ever show,_

_Are the things no one wants to know..._

_Please take, my hand,_

_Tell me that you understand,_

_I need a new start,_

_I need you to heal my heart..._"

Law rested his chin on the top of Emma's head, keeping his arms wrapped around her shoulders. Some part of him wanted to stay like this forever…to hold her, in his arms, and to be the only one that ever _could_.

With his eyes closed, Law pictured the small, dark blue box that was in his pocket. Nestled inside of it, was white ring with sixteen black diamonds that were on a band that was interwoven was a heart-shape, and with sixteen white diamonds…it had belonged to his Mother, and she'd been very specific on where it was to end up.

One way or the other, Law was going to get what he wanted, and he was going to make sure he put a ring on her, so that everybody knew that she was his.

* * *

"I want you to know, that this is by _far_ the _weirdest_ thing that I have _ever_ done." Georgia admitted.

"Nah, not me." Emma replied, clinging to the black scales of the female Sea King, Yin. "One time, when Luffy was still a cat?" Georgia nodded. "He stole all of this prime-cut meat from a restaurant, and I had to yell: 'DINE AND DASH!' and then run for my _life_. A _cat_ made me a _felon_."

"Hey, Emmy!" Luffy protested, from where he was riding on the head of the white Sea King, Yang. "You weren't supposed to _tell_ her that!"

"Why not?" Emma called back. "The whole of _Fremantle_ knows! And, also, Luffy, you should be careful."

"Why?"

A massive wave suddenly came up and drenched the seventeen-year-old.

Georgia smirked, as Emma leaned back and declared: "_Justice_." A wave suddenly splashed up, saturating her.

Now, Luffy laughed at Emma.

"Ace-Chan, can Luffy die now?"

"I'd prefer it if he didn't."

"I'll show you what a French-Kiss is."

"Luffy, get in the water."

"What?! No!"

Georgia laughed, as Yin and Yang growled in amusement, but only Law remained stoic.

* * *

"Well, there it is." Sumi stated, standing on the figurehead of the Moby Dick. "Dawn Island." _That's where my Mother is…_

"Mmhmm." Nojiko agreed. "I would have _liked_ to have gone back home, but it's nice to see a new place. This is where Luffy grew up, right?"

Sumi nodded. "_Hai_, and Ace-Kun, too."

"We also have to find Makino, and make sure that she's okay." Kaya reminded them.

"Yes, there's that, too." Nojiko looked over at Sumi. "Sumi, maybe you should go and ask Whitebeard what our next course of action is…" She understood the relationship between Whitebeard and his crew, having a Father-figure in her own life.

"_Hai_!" Sumi grinned, and went to find her Father. She found him, and Marco, on the other side of the ship, and there was somebody with them. "Oh…hello, Grace." Sumi said politely.

"Hello, Sumi." Grace smiled kindly at her, but she was worried – Sumi could tell, and she soon found out why.

"Little Death has succeeded in freeing Infinity from its prison." Grace said, and Sumi gulped, nodding. She realised what this would mean.

"How long do we have?" Sumi asked seriously.

"Not long." Grace responded, shaking her head. "Little Death appears to have vanished. I have, however, _this_." And, she held up the red necklace with the golden wings on it.

"It's colour is dulled." Sumi noted, recognizing the differences between the necklace she had seen around Emma's neck, and the necklace that she was seeing now.

Grace nodded. "Yes, but it will regain its strength. It bears the most sacred of powers, and it can never be extinguished."

"In the wrong hands, it could be disastrous." Sumi stated. "_Ne_, _Oyaji_?"

Whitebeard nodded, never taking his eyes off of the necklace. "That is correct, Sumi. However, in the hands of the one that is _intended_ to use it…"

"The Princess, yoi." Marco spoke up, calmly. "_Hikari No Hime_…"

"That is correct." Grace turned her hazel eyes to Dawn Island, and then said: "Right now, Emma, Luffy, Ace, Law and the human girl from the other world are traveling to this place, to rescue that girl's sister from the World Government and avoid the waiting ambush."

"And, Princess Vivi?" Marco asked.

Grace nodded. "She is here, too – she knows that this is the place where she needs to be. And…" She cast her eyes downwards. "I fear that a foe of yours has surfaced on this island, as well. He is awaiting Ace and Emma, and is aware of their approach."

Whitebeard's eyes hardened slightly, and he said: "Grace, are you…sure? That Teach is here?"

Grace nodded. "Yes, Edward. I'm afraid he…desires to meet Emma, whether in battle or not, I do not know."

"Why?" Sumi whispered, almost afraid to hear the answer. She was still very much afraid of her former crew-mate...of the man that had killed Thatch.

* * *

_~Flash-Back~_

_"Man, those two sure look cosy." Rakuyo commented, as he observed Thatch and Sumi strolling across the deck together. "Think they're a couple now?"_

_"More like a couple of idiots, if they are." Curiel commented. "He's, like, forty years older than what she is."_

_"I heard that!" Sumi snapped, storming over to them as Thatch watched in amusement. She placed her hands on her hips, and glared at the two division commanders. "For your information, we are, but he's not!"_

_"What?" A voice said from across the deck, and they all turned to see Ace, walking towards them, with a look of shock on his usually easy-going face. "Sumi, when did this happen?"_

_"Oh, Ace-Kun..." Sumi averted her gaze. "I didn't know that you were...listening...besides, it's my life, and I'll do what I want with it!"_

_"I didn't say you couldn't." Ace put a hand on his hip and regarded her carefully. Since he'd rescued her from slavery, he'd been keeping an eye on the young blonde-haired girl. It seemed that she was a lot more mature than he'd given her credit for - her past had definitely had a lot to do with that. "I'm happy for you two, alright?"_

_"Look, I..." She stopped. "Wait, you're what?"_

_Ace glanced at Thatch, and held up his hand. Thatch grinned, and the two of them slapped hands._

_"_Sukoa_!" Ace told Thatch._

_"What the Hell?!" Sumi just about fell over._ It's like I'm some prize fish he's just caught, or something...oh well, at least he approves. He doesn't think that it's weird._ Sumi's gaze drifted over to where Haruta was watching her._

_"So," Haruta asked. "When's the wedding?" She smirked._

_"Get back here, Haruta-Chan!" Sumi cried, giving chase, as Haruta ran._

Then again, maybe she's not as mature as I thought._ Ace rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. _That's why Thatch is good for her...I trust him...

_And, as he watched Sumi chase Haruta around the deck, her blonde pigtails flying, he felt quite confident that Thatch would take care of Sumi..._

* * *

"So, you didn't answer my question," Sumi faced Grace now, her hands on her hips. "Why is Teach after Emma-Chan?"

Grace drew in a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "I'll tell you why...I'll tell you everything..."

* * *

Sakazuki walked down the quiet village street, and people stared at him, because they had never seen an Admiral before. There was also a dark and dangerous aura about him, that caused people standing in his way to move quickly.

A man was waiting for the Admiral in front of Party's Bar.

"You wished to speak to me?" Mayor Woodslap asked, regarding Sakazuki carefully - he knew, probably better than most people in Foosha Village, to be wary around this particular man.

Sakazuki didn't waste anytime. He merely held up a photograph of a woman with dark green hair and dark brown eyes, and asked: "Where is she?" Woodslap tried not to cringe - as it was, his face must have given _something_ away, because Sakazuki continued with: "I must ask that you do not test me, Woodslap - _where is she_?"

_I can't tell him where Makino is!_ Woodslap thought desperately, fiddling with his glasses. _Who knows what will happen, after everything that's been going on lately!_

Woodslap coughed and, sensing Sakazuki's growing impatience, said: "I don't know," (Sakazuki glared at him). "I really don't! She left a few days ago, and hasn't come back yet - it's possible that she went into Goa, for more supplies, as we've been running low on...supplies..." He finished meekly.

Sakazuki raised an eyebrow, and regarded Woodslap coldly - the Admiral's gaze was very intense. "Then I will wait here for her." He said, much to Woodslap's dismay. "Prepare a room for me here."

"Y-yes, of course, right away!" Woodslap stammered, before hurrying into the bar and then upstairs, to where the guest rooms were. He practically _flew_ into one of the rooms, and slammed the door shut. "I-I need your help!" He told one of the two occupants in the room, who glanced up at him with steady dark eyes. "Please...?"

* * *

"There it is!" Luffy cried, pointing. "And...hey, isn't that...?"

"It's _Oyaji's_ ship!" Ace recognized the familiar ship moored just off the coast of Dawn Island. "Right where he said he would be." Ace added, smiling.

"Hmm..." Was all Georgia said.

'You don't sound terribly pleased, surly human.' Yin commented. 'Is there a problem?'

"There's no problem." Georgia replied flatly, although that was a lie, and they both knew it. In truth, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to meet Edward Newgate face-to-face, but it was too late to back out now.

Just then, as the two Sea Kings were approaching the Moby Dick, there was a slight distraction. A huge wall of water appeared between them and the Moby Dick and, from within that water, appeared a massive Sea King. He resembled an oversized eel with with eyes and blue fins, and both Emma and Luffy recognized him instantly.

"It's The Lord Of The Coast!" They cried in unison.

"Can't you two do something?!" Georgia asked Yin and Yang. She was terrified.

'While not as big as most Sea Kings,' Yang began.

'As you can see, he is still bigger than us.' Yin finished.

The Sea King roared at them, and Yang translated. 'He says, go away, or I'll eat you.'

"Oh no, he _won't_!" Luffy declared, and drew back his fist. "_Gomu-Gomu No...Pistol_!" His fist went flying, and struck the Sea King in the side of his snout. It pushed him back a bit, but the Sea King must've wrapped his tail around a strong piece of seaweed or a rock or something, because he roared again, and came back at them.

Emma gritted her teeth, and then stood up shakily on Yin's head, holding onto one of the Sea King's spikes, as she faced the oncoming Lord Of The Coast. "**Stop**." She said, feeling a strange sense welling up inside of her, and a strange force emitted from her.

Ace and Law swore under their breaths in unison, as the Haoshoku Haki threatened them but, due to their strong wills, they were able to withstand it, as was Luffy, but for a different reason.

Onboard the Moby Dick, Sumi, Marco, Vista and the others watched in complete shock.

Whitebeard stared in silence, calmly assessing what was going on before him.

The Lord Of The Coast stopped, and blinked, staring at Emma, who stared defiantly back, before he turned tail and retreated, diving into the ocean a few feet away from them.

As the waves settled around them, Emma sunk to her knees, trying to figure out what she'd just done, and then she glanced at Georgia.

The other red-head was unconscious on the female Sea King's black scales, her face pale, and she was foaming at the mouth.

"_Ahh_!" Everybody onboard the Moby Dick heard Emma yell. "_No, Georgia, I'm so sorry! Georgia!_"

* * *

"I'm _really_, REALLY sorry, Georgia." Emma apologized afterwards, once they were safely onboard the Moby Dick, and the nurses had tended to Georgia.

"Yeah, yeah, you said that before." Georgia glared at her. "Just promise me that you'll never do that, ever, again."

"I'm really sorry!" Emma bowed her head. "I didn't _know_ that I could do that."

"Then, what were you expecting to happen?" Ace wanted to know.

"I have no idea."

A few people face-palmed or rolled their eyes.

Sumi's eyes, however, were shimmering. "Emma-Chan, do you know what that was?" She was sitting next to the black-clad girl, looking excited. "That was Haoshoku Haki!"

"Why's that such a big deal?" Georgia wanted to know. "I bet loads of people here can do it."

"No," Sumi shook her head. "It's not a very common gift. Only about one in a million people can use it, and you have to be born with it."

"Great." Georgia rolled her eyes. "More special things about Emma."

Emma looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"But, Emma-Chan," Sumi held up one finger, frowning in a warning-type way. "You _must_ learn to control it better than that - you're just lucky that Luffy, Ace-Kun, and Law could withstand it."

"I know." Emma murmured. "Anyway, so the reason why we're here!"

Sumi sighed. "Subject change." She was smiling, though. "Okay, yes, there's that, too. The Marines arrived here before we did - this is where my Mother is, after all."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, and the World Government knows that we're coming here to...umm, see her? They've obviously set a trap for us."

"That much is for certain." Sumi sat back. "And, if what you say is true, then Georgia-Chan's sister is in danger, too."

"So are her co-workers." Georgia reminded her. "They were _all_ transported here by _somebody_."

"What is this, National Emma Accusation Day?!" Emma exclaimed. "Your sister tried to bloody _arrest_ me, Georgia, and I didn't even do anything wrong!"

"_Anyway_," Sumi said, rolling her eyes. "Having a whole bunch of Marines on this island _could_ present a problem."

"Unless we use it to our advantage." Law mused. He was sitting on a crate, looking completely at ease, as the entire landscape was bathed in an orangey-glow. "Do we know exactly how _many_ Marines are on this island?"

"Quite a few, at our scouts' last counts." Marco replied. "Most of them seem to be placed either in Goa itself, or in Foosha Village, yoi."

Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance. "What about Makino?" Luffy asked quickly.

"Ah, now that's the thing." Sumi said. "One of our scouts reported that she's gone missing, but it's possible that she's in Goa..._or_, she _could_ have gone to Mount Colubo, which is..."

"Where Curly Dadan's house is." Ace remembered. He looked at his little brother again. "That's the most probably place she would have gone."

"The villagers are worried." Marco said calmly. "Not only is the world they know changing, yoi, but..." He trailed off.

"But, what?" Ace, Emma and Luffy asked in unison.

"Not only was Akainu spotted in Foosha Village, looking for Makino," Sumi said quietly, and Luffy and Ace froze. "But, so are three of the Shichibukai."

"Which ones?" Luffy asked immediately.

"Donquixote Doflamingo, Dracule Mihawk, and Boa Hancock." Sumi replied, which caused mixed reactions from Emma, Ace, Law and Luffy. "They've been summoned here because _we're_ here." She then turned to Ace, facing him directly, and added: "Teach is here, too."

Ace swore quietly, and Sumi wisely chose not to reveal anymore information that she knew.

"We need to get to where Makino is." Luffy said suddenly, standing up. "We need to make sure that she's okay."

"I agree." Emma said. "But, there's a problem - how are we going to get to where she is? There are, apparently, Marines everywhere, and I can't teleport us there without my necklace." She took the opportunity to glare at Georgia, who just glared defiantly back at her.

Sumi smiled slightly, and held something up. "You mean _this_?" The red heart necklace dangled from her hands, and glittered in the twilight.

Emma stared at it, and then leapt at Sumi, hugging her tightly. "Sumi-Chan!" She kissed the younger girl's cheek. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank_ _you_!" She immediately fastened the necklace around her own neck. "Where'd you find it?"

"Well, the goddess, Grace, gave it back to us." Sumi explained, smiling. "The gods are getting worried, since Little Death was able to free Infinity." Emma, Georgia, Ace, Law and Luffy just stared at her. "But, the necklace's power was able to be restored, although it's not fully charged yet - be careful with it."

"It belongs to the Princess, yoi." Marco added, meaningfully.

"Which means that we have to find Princess Vivi and give her this necklace." Emma realised, touching the red, heart-shaped stone. "Tomorrow, okay, you guys?" She turned to face her three present Allies. "We head out at first light..." She smiled slightly. "We go to Dawn Island at dawn, got it?"

They nodded.

Luffy was grinning. "I can't wait to show you my home island, Emmy!"

Ace appeared to be very deep in thought, and then he said: "Emiko, I don't think..."

"Oh, no you _don't_, Ace-Chan!" She snapped. "Just because everybody from Akainu to Blackbeard happens to be on that island, I am _not_ staying behind!" She turned around, lifting up the back of her top to reveal her Whitebeard tattoo. "Everybody who wears this mark is brave, even in the face of such terrible dangers, and I am no different, Portgas D. Ace!" She turned back around, and marched up to him, staring defiantly into his eyes. "I'm not afraid of Teach." She whispered, and all of the Whitebeard Pirates were staring at her.

Ace stared back at Emma. He stared at her for a long time. Her body was framed by the setting sun, which was the same colour as her deep gold eyes. There was a look of such stubbornness on her face, mingled with complete honesty, that Ace was at a loss for words.

In the end, it was Whitebeard who spoke. "If she wants to go, then she can." Everybody turned to look at him, except for Ace and Emma, who were lost in each others eyes. "I must warn you all to proceed with caution, however. Ace, you know this better than anybody."

_Not better than me..._ Sumi thought, a hint of sadness on her face. _Nobody here knows that, though..._

* * *

_~Flashback~:_

_"Ace-Kun is going to kill you when he finds out." Sumi said, as she and Thatch relaxed on the deck, watching a storm roll in from the south. "As it was, I had to hold the other nurses back."_

_Thatch chuckled softly, and placed his right arm around her shoulders. His left hand, he placed on her stomach. "Don't worry - they'll get over it when he's born."_

_"How do you know that it's a 'he'?" Sumi asked. "I'm only thirteen weeks into it - what if I want a girl?"_

_"Maybe it's twins?" Thatch suggested. His eyes drifted to the small box by his feet._

_Sumi followed his gaze. "Tha-Chan, it's not going to run away from you." She told him, leaning against his shoulder._

_"That's not what I'm worried about." Thatch responded. "It's a Devil Fruit, Suko - they're rare, even for us pirates."_

_"I know," Sumi admitted. "But, like you said, it's fairly and squarely _yours_. You found it, and it's up to you what you do with it."_

_"Yeah, but if I choose to consume it, then that means that I won't be able to rescue you from the ocean anymore." Thatch reminded her._

_She swatted playfully at his arm. "When have you _ever_ rescued me from the ocean?!" She stood up, stretching. "Anyway, it looks like there's a storm coming in - I'm gonna turn in, Tha-Chan."_

_"I'll be there shortly, Suko." Thatch promised her, and smiled, watching the love of his life walk across the deck. His smile then faded, as he turned to look at the box that contained the Yami-Yami No Mi. "What should I do? Perhaps I'll wait...until after the baby is born." He smiled again, thinking of Sumi as a Mother. Even though she was young, she was handling this well, but she was right - Ace _was_ going to kill Thatch when he found out. But, that was just because The Firefist was so protective over the little angel. Thatch murmured: "My little angel...Suko..."_

_He never knew what happened, as the blade sliced into his back so quickly, that it pierced his heart within the second he had muttered his beloved's name._

_He never knew that it was Teach who had stabbed him in the back (quite literally) and that said backstabber was now standing over him, with the bloodied knife held in his hand, and a maniacal grin on his face, as lightning struck the sky behind him._

_Sumi felt a sudden chill, as she was halfway to her room, and so she doubled back, not sure what it was that made her suddenly want to go back._

_The wind whipped around her, as she staggered back onto the deck, thinking that she was probably going to have to drag Thatch back below deck, since he had a habit of staying up and watching the storms._

_What she found, however, was Teach, standing there, with the Yami-Yami No Mi in his hand, and he had just taken a huge bite out of the Devil Fruit._

_Thatch's body lay on the deck, with blood splattered around him. The knife that had been used to commit the deed was lying beside him, still stained with sticky, dark red blood._

_A bolt of lightning illuminated the area, as Sumi stood there, staring not at Thatch, but at the man that had taken his life._

_Teach stared back at her, a steely glint in his dark eyes. He carefully wiped some of the blood from his chin, and that's when Sumi saw what was in his other hand._

_It was Thatch's heart._

_As Sumi watched in a numb kind of shock, he merely dropped Thatch's heart, stamping on it, before picking up the blade again._

_Sumi didn't even have time to react, as Teach was suddenly in front of her, and his hand shot out, gripping her throat._

_In his other hand, he held the blade, which he drove into Sumi's stomach._

_Sumi cried out, and coughed up blood, as she stared one final time into Teach's dark eyes, before she was thrown across the deck. She hit the side of it, and fell, unconscious, to the wet wood._

_The last thing that she saw, before she blacked out, was Thatch's lifeless corpse, and his murderer, standing over him, with darkness swirling around him._

* * *

Emma stretched out on the bed she was lying on, humming the song that she'd used to call Yin and Yang. She was reading volume 59 of the manga again, and her Luffy plushie was next to her.

Ever since Sumi had said that Blackbeard was on the island, Emma had been gathering information about him. She felt a little bit strange, asking people about their former crew-mate, but they seemed happy to help her to understand him, even if they themselves didn't understand much about him at all.

Only Sumi and Ace had seemed unwilling to talk and so, after she'd retired for the night, Emma had turned to her manga.

"I wonder if he knows that it was me that stopped the war..." Emma mused, resting the book on her chest. "I bet he does, and he must be fairly annoyed that I didn't allow him to get _Oyaji's_ Devil Fruit power...hmm..." There was a knock on her door, and she looked up. "Enter." She said, in an important voice.

Law came in, and raised an eyebrow.

Emma merely looked at him, and so he closed the door behind him. "Now," he said, turning to face her. "What's got you so worked up?"

"I'm not worked up." She replied, although she averted her eyes. "Who says I'm worked up?"

"You've been trying to find out as much as you can about Marshall D. Teach, since you found out that he was on the island." Law pointed out. "Are you worried about facing him?"

"_No_!" She snapped, in a way that meant 'yes', and then she sighed. "Okay, maybe a _little_ bit...I'm more worried about Ace-Chan and Sumi-Chan...I mean, Teach _did_ kill their crew-mate."

Law nodded. "He did." He agreed, coming over and sitting down beside her on the bed. "So, you're not worried about yourself?"

She shook her head, as she sat up. "No. Are you...worried about me, that it?"

"I worry about you all the time, Emiko." Law replied, placing a hand to her forehead. "You keep getting injured."

"I know." She admitted. "So far, I've been hurt on this quest more times than I have in my _life_. I think that my parents would freak out."

Law's eyes hardened slightly. "Your parents..." He shook his head. "Don't mention them, Emiko. I _hated_ the way that they treated you, even if I wasn't as vocal about it as...as what _he_ was."

"_He_," Emma pointed out. "Is marrying me, Law-Chan. Don't forget that."

"Emiko..." Law looked directly into her eyes, and she was suddenly stilled by the amount of devotion - and possessiveness - that she saw within the grey depths of _his_ eyes. He held something in his hand, and Emma almost passed out when she saw the ring. "Since that first moment, when I saw you in your room...don't you _feel_ it, as well?" He insisted. "That tugging?"

Emma gasped, despite herself. Law knew about the tugging?

Law, slightly inspired by her gasp, went on with: "Emiko, I want to be the one that's there with you, and I'll do _anything_ to get what I want. I _love_ you."

"I know," she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. "I just don't understand it..." Her voice shook.

"The only thing I understand right now is that I want you." Law said firmly. "When I'm not with you, I feel empty. You're...you're my _power_. My _light_."

Hearing that from him sent chills down her arms. Law was one of the darkest people that she knew, and to hear that she was light to him was...well...strange.

"Emiko...leave _him_," Law had somehow managed to slide the ring onto Emma's right ring finger, without her noticing. "Come with _me_..."

"I'll think about it." What more could she say?

Law's eyes darkened slightly, and he pushed her back down onto the bed. Leaning over her, he lingered, with his lips right over hers. "I _need_ an answer from you...but, no matter what, I won't give up." He promised her. "Even if you join another crew, I'll continue to hunt you down, until you're _mine_."

Emma just stared up at him, her mouth slightly open, as Law regarded her intently. This was hitting a nerve - she still wasn't sure where she intended to go after their mission was complete. She was suddenly faced with two choices, and they overlapped. Choosing the Heart Pirates meant choosing Law. Choosing the Whitebeard Pirates meant choosing Ace. Choosing the Straw Hat Pirates meant that both Law and Ace would continue to pursue her. They would probably both do so until the end of their days as pirates, maybe even for the rest of their lives.

Law closed the distance between them just then, letting his lips trail over hers, before something caught his eye, and he drew back, sighing. "I...I can't."

"Can't what?" Emma blinked, although she was secretly relieved that he had stopped, due to her indecisions.

"I can't kiss you with that Luffy doll _watching_." Law explained, straightening up.

Emma looked at the Luffy doll, with its ridiculous grin, and then back up at Law. The two of them started laughing, and a warm and comfortable feeling washed over Emma, like waves.

like the times that she spent with Ace, her times with Law just felt so..._right_.

When he wasn't trying to assert his love over her, that is. He was going to have to ease up a bit, if she was _ever_ going to make up her mind.

* * *

Later that night, as he read a book called _Plastic Surgery Gone Wrong_, a thought suddenly struck Law, making him drop the book and ran back to Emma's room.

She'd been wearing the necklace and, if she kept it on when she fell asleep, then...

When Law got to Emma's room, and found her body disappearing, he knew that he'd been right in his assumptions. Without a moment's hesitation, he lunged forwards, and grabbed onto her arm.

* * *

_Sakazuki walked through the dark forest, not really caring who or _what_ might be out there. He was far more frightening than _anything_ in that forest, that was for sure._

_A woman waited for him in a small clearing. She was incredibly beautiful, with an hourglass figure, long dark hair and dark eyes._

_"You wished to see me?" Boa Hancock asked, her face expressionless, as she regarded the Admiral._

_"Yes." Sakazuki faced her. "You are aware of your mission on this island, correct?"_

_"Correct." She affirmed._

_"I believe that I made it perfectly clear?"_

_"Transparently so."_

_They were both being incredibly pedantic with each other - neither of them appreciated the other right at that very moment in time, but they were, for the most part, attempting to act civil towards each other._

_"Then, tell me, why is it that you have not been able to locate the woman Makino yet?" Sakazuki asked her._

_Watching from the bushes, Emma clutched the Luffy doll in one hand, and Law's hand with the other._

_"I believe that I may have pinpointed her exact location." Hancock explained, much to Emma's horror. "It seems that she has taken refuge..."_

_"_Ribon-Ribon No Cut!_"_

_"What are you _doing_?!" Law hissed, as Hancock and Sakazuki both dodged the ribbons, and then looked towards where Emma was now standing in plain sight. Law started running, dragging Emma along behind him._

_"Saving Makino-San's _life_!" Emma hissed back, dodging the magma that suddenly sailed past them._

_"And endangering our own!" Law reminded her, dragging her off the path, as they were assaulted by another wave of magma._

_They hurried through the bushes, getting scrapes and cuts along their sides, until they reached another clearing, where Emma suddenly stopped and gasped._

_Law froze too, because something long and sinuous had just wrapped around the both of them._

_A long ochre snake-like body squeezed Law painfully, as a teal snake-like body did the same to Emma, making her cry out, but maybe that was because she was still reaching, to keep a hold of Law's hand._

_They were wrenched apart, however, just as Hancock herself entered the glade._

_"Well done." She told her two sisters, Marigold and Sandersonia. She faced Emma and Law. "I do not see how you two managed to evade the World Government for so long, but it ends now."_

_"No..." Emma whispered, struggling to get free, and then gasping, when Sandersonia squeezed her again. "Hancock, please...don't do this..."_

_"I have no choice." Hancock replied, shaking her head. "I am a member of the Shichibukai, after all. It is my duty to serve the World Government, by telling them the whereabouts of this..._Makino_. I will have to inform Akainu that she is at the house belonging to the mountain bandit, Dadan."_

_"No!" Emma cried, her voice rising, despite the warning look that she got from Law. "Hancock, please, listen to me! Akainu and the others...they'll _kill_ Makino and Dadan!"_

_"So?" Hancock raised an eyebrow._

_"So," Emma swallowed, struggling to control her voice. "Makino-San and Curly Dadan _raised_ Luffy - they were like a big sister and a Mother to him when he was a kid!"_

_That stopped Hancock. "Raised him?" She repeated, and then she narrowed her eyes. "How is it that you know this?" She demanded of Emma. "Do you know Luffy?"_

_"Yes." Emma replied._

_"How did you two meet?! What is he to you?! _Answer me_!"_

Aaaaa!_ Emma thought, panicking slightly._

_Law saw this, and decided to help her out. "Hancock-Ya, listen to me." Hancock looked up at him. "Emiko saved Luffy-Ya from Marineford, and I instructed her on how to stitch up his life-threatening injuries."_

_"She...saved him?" Hancock glanced from Law to Emma and then back at the surgeon again._

_Law nodded. "_Hai_. My fiancee is like a sister to Luffy-Ya."_

_Hancock glanced back at Emma. "Is this true?"_

_Emma had managed to turn off the Look that she was giving Law just in time, and answered Hancock with: "For the most part."_

_That seemed to satisfy Hancock, but then she became worried again. "But, if I do not comply with the World Government's terms..."_

_"I'll give you a special, Luffy-themed gift!" Emma said suddenly, and Hancock's eyes lit up. "This limited edition, one-of-a-kind item, never-before-seen (in this world) - a Monkey D. Luffy plush doll!" She managed to produce the doll from the space between her and Sandersonia's scales, holding it out to Hancock, whose eyes lit up. "Almost as good as the real thing, and oh so perfect for those warm and fuzzy hugs!"_

What the Hell_? Law wondered, as Hancock imemdiately grabbed the Luffy doll, and gazed endearingly at it._

_Seeing his chance, Law muttered: "Room." He was then able to get Marigold to let go of him, and Sandersonia to let go of Emma, who he grabbed and bolted with in his arms, bridal-style._

_"You should be a salesperson." He told her, as they came to the edge of a cliff, and a wave of magma streaking towards them announced Sakazuki's arrival. Law had no choice but to jump and, as they headed for the ocean, he pressed his lips to Emma's, startling her, and causing her to wake up._

* * *

Emma and Law landed roughly on the bed back onboard the Moby Dick, with Law on top of Emma.

Both of them were breathing heavily, their clothes mussed up and scratches on their skin.

"A salesperson or your fiancee..." Emma gasped, trying to stop her heart from pounding so heavily. "Make up...your mind..."

"You're one to talk." Law pointed out, enjoying his current position very, very much.

"Oh, shut up."

The door to the room suddenly opened, and Marco came in, whistling, which slowly trailed off to a wolf whistle, seeing Emma and Law's position.

"Don't you _dare_ say a word." Emma threatened him, blushing. "And, please go and wake up the others," she added, glancing out the window. "We're running out of time."

* * *

"We can't know for certain of Hancock will uphold her end of the bargain." Ace said, about ten minutes later, as they gathered on the deck.

It was the darkest hour, that came just before the dawn.

"That's why we have to go there now." Luffy agreed. "Emmy, can you get us there?"

"I think so." She replied, nodding. "I can picture the place you guys grew up in...I can't wait to meet Curly Dadan and the others!"

"Just don't let it distract you, Emiko." Ace smiled. He took her hand, and tried not to notice when Law took the other one. He had noticed a new ring on Emma's right hand, but hadn't had the time to question her about it, yet.

As Luffy took Ace's other hand, they happened to glance up. Sumi, Marco and Vista were walking towards them.

"We're coming with you." Sumi explained, taking Luffy's other hand.

"But, it's dangerous." Ace stated.

"Ace-Kun..." Sumi rolled her eyes.

"Sumi." Ace replied, staring her down.

Marco decided to intervene. "_Oyaji's_ orders." He took Sumi's other hand, and Vista took Marco's other hand.

"Knowing that both Teach and Mihawk are on this island gives me reason to come with you." The swordsman stated calmly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Georgia said, taking the hands of both Vista and Law. "Can we just go now? The sooner we find this Makino chick, the sooner we can rescue my sister."

Emma nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. _It's been awhile since I've had to do this but, well, here goes..._ "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

* * *

"..." Curly Dadan was a tall and obese woman with orange hair and, right now, she had nearly swallowed her cigarette, as she stared down at the two newcomers. She was cringing - why were things getting so weird around here, lately?

"May we come in?" The newcomer asked, dismounting from her stead. "And, may we please have some water? We have traveled a fair distance, and are quite thirsty."

Dadan replied: "Wait a minute, now, who are you, and what are you doing here?!" She poked the big yellow duck, and he jumped back, looking shocked. "What _is_ this thing, and why on _Earth_ is he wearing a chullo?!"

"Oh, I apologize." The young, blue-haired woman bowed politely, as did her duck. "My name is Vivi, and this is my pet Spot-Billed Duck, Carue. The chullo is his preferred choice of headwear."

"Karoo!" The duck affirmed.

Dadan was too shocked to say anything, as Vivi gave her a suddenly very determined look.

"Please, I'm looking for somebody named Makino." Vivi stated. "It's very important!"

"Oh, hello?" The green-haired woman herself appeared from behind Dadan, smiling politely. "I'm Makino."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Vivi bowed again. "I was sent here to tell you not to return to Foosha Village." Her face was very serious, as she explained: "Akainu, of the World Government, has a warrant out for your arrest."

Makino looked shocked, as did Dadan, and the other Mountain Bandits. "M-my arrest? But...why?"

"Because of your affiliation with Monkey D. Luffy." Vivi replied.

Dadan rolled her eyes. "What did that little brat do _now_?"

Makino looked worried. "Is Luffy okay?"

"Well..." Vivi began, just as there was a flash of light from behind her, and she turned around, to see a pile of people appear at the front of Dadan's house, much to the Mountain Bandit's annoyance.

Vivi's heart began to beat faster, as she recognized the straw-hat-wearing captain she had trusted to save her country. Her normal composure was gone nearly in an instant, as she called out: "L-Luffy?!"

"Huh?" Luffy looked up, straightening his straw hat and, when he saw the familiar, blue-haired Princess, his face broke into a huge grin. "Vivi!" He began to run towards her and, despite her promise to herself to remain calm, she found herself running towards him.

"Luffy!"

"Vivi!"

"Luffy!"

"_Vivi_!"

"_Luffy_!"

They met in a hug, laughing and (in Vivi's case) crying a little bit, and basically just happy to see each other again.

"Umm, do they know each other?" Dadan was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Yeah, he helped her to save her country." Ace replied, watching the reunion between his brother and the Princess, with a small smile.

"Oh, her country?" Dadan crossed her arms. "And, just _who_ is she, exactly?"

"She's the Princess of the kingdom of Arabasta." Ace replied quietly.

The cigarette fell from Dadan's mouth, as Makino looked surprised.

"Oh, it's too early in the morning for this." Dadan sighed, stamping out her cigarette angrily, as if _it_ was the cause for all of these sudden occurrences. "You ten just do what you want - I'm going back to bed."

"Wait, ten?" Ace blinked. "Did she count Carue, or...?" He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"_Yes_!" Dadan yelled, from somewhere in the house. "I counted the Goddam duck!"

Ace went pale, and looked around. "Carue, Vivi, Luffy, Trafalgar, Makino-San, Georgia, Sumi, Marco, Vista, me..." He froze, as did everybody else.

"If I might correctly interpret your stunned silence," Vivi spoke up, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Luffy. "Then am I to assume that your friend, Emma, has gone missing?"

As a few people nodded, Luffy asked her: "Why are you talking like that, Vivi?"

She looked embarrassed. "Well, I've been in the palace for awhile, so..."

"Yes, but...what are you doing _here_, Vivi?" Sumi wanted to know. "And, how did you know that it was Emma-Chan who was missing?"

"Well..." Vivi began. "That's because..."

* * *

Emma landed on something that wasn't quite the ground - in fact, she landed on a human, and a rather big one, at that.

Opening her eyes, Emma put one hand on her forehead, and the other one on whomever she had just landed on, so that she could sit up on her knees.

Only then, did she realise the identity of the person she had landed on, as she stared into those black depths, and noticed the teeth that were missing from within his slightly agape mouth...

"_Teach_!" She gasped, before swiftly looking around her, noticing the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates in the area that she was in.

She appeared to have landed in a small area between the forest and a creek, which seemed a deceivingly tranquil place, considering what she had just entered into.

Emma switched her gaze back to the captain, just as his eyes took on a steely glint. Emma gasped, but was unable to react, as Teach's hand shot up and, blanketed in darkness, wrapped around her throat. In a second, she was slammed up against a tree, and was completely helpless, as the Blackbeard Pirates regarded her.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Teach didn't seem at all concerned by Emma's struggling, as her hands came up, futilely attempting to pry his fingers away from her throat. "If it isn't the so-called Demon Of War, Emma Pax..."

"What do you mean by...'so-called'?" Emma asked him, her heart hammering in her chest, and her breathing quickening. _This is bad...I have to...get out of...here!_ "_Ribon-Ribon_..."

"Uh-uh-uh." Teach said mockingly, and Emma's eyes widened, as various black tendrils suddenly snaked up and around her, and she felt a familiar sense of weakness wash over her.

"Oh, shite...I forgot..." Emma muttered.

"Would a _true_ Demon Of War forget the most important thing when fighting an opponent like me?" Teach asked her.

"Don't _flatter_ yourself, Teach." Emma snapped, forgetting her current situation for a moment. "I know that you're still...scared of _Oyaji_..." _Okay, now, _why_ did I just say that?_ Emma wondered, as she rceognized the angry look that entered the Dark Man's eyes.

And, a second later, she was punched in the side, and only by moving at the _very_ last second did she avoid taking that hit to the head. As it was, she knew that her shoulder was going to be very badly bruised - perhaps it was even broken? She didn't know, as she landed roughly on the ground, at the feet of one particular member of the Blackbeard Pirates.

"_Toputoputopu_..." Vasco Shot chortled at Emma's current predicament. "Look - she's got Whitebeard's symbol on her back."

"What?" Teach held out his hand, which became wrapped in darkness, and Emma found herself being drawn towards him, due to his Devil Fruit power controlling the gravity around her. She was powerless to stop the violation, as her top was torn from her, leaving only her bra, and her Whitebeard tattoo was revealed for all to see. "So, you've joined his crew?"

Emma didn't know how to answer, and so she stayed silent. Her breathing had become ragged, due to the pain.

"Or, maybe I should have the tattoo removed from your back?" Teach suggested. "Shiliew?"

Emma gasped, when she heard a blade being drawn, and guessed what the former prison-guard's intentions were. "No! Don't...don't you _dare_!" She turned around fast, glaring up at Teach, with her fists clenched at her sides. "I am _not_ afraid of you, _or_ of your crew, Teach!"

"_Zehahahahahaha_!" Teach seemed to find this amusing, as did most of his (slightly scary-looking) crew. "I knew there was something about you that intrigued me, girlie. Could it be that you have more bravery than is normal for such a small girl, or are you just incredibly reckless?"

As the crew laughed about this, Emma murmured: "Neither."

"What was that?"

"I _said_, it's neither!" Emma snapped, glaring up at him in what was probably either bravery or recklessness. "I just know that Fate wouldn't let me die here! She wouldn't be so cruel as to let me die by _your_ hand, Teach!" She smirked slightly, although her fists were still clenched by her sides - her shoulder was _killing_ her. "You believe in Fate, don't you, Teach?"

Teach regarded her carefully at this statement, unable to read the expression on her face. "They were right when they mentioned how incredibly well-informed you were about this world."

"Everybody and his _brother_ knows how you lot are with Fate." Emma stated. "I just happen to have read the right books."

"So it would seem." Teach looked at her. "So then, you were aware of what you were doing by stopping the war at Marineford when you did?"

"Yes?" She looked back up at him, biting her lip. _He knows, he knows, he knows..._ She realised and, at Teach's _next_ words, her own fears were justified.

"Then, you should know how much I _hate_ having my plans disrupted." Teach said.

Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And? What are you going to do?"

"Well, I _was_ going to have you join my crew," Teach stated, much to Emma's disbelief. "But, with _his_ mark on your back, I'm afraid I can't allow that. But, how about this..." He took a few steps towards her. "You can keep your life, and come with me, if you become my woman."

_What..._what_ did he just say_? Emma's eyebrow twitched, as she stared at the Blackbeard Captain in complete disbelief. _Okay, girl, you have one chance to say something, and you'd better make it good._ "Save it for Jewellery Bonney!" She snapped, just as something hit her from the side, and pushed her into the bushes.

"Wha-what the...?!" Emma gasped, as she recognized the large teal-coloured snake body of Boa Sandersoania.

The Boa sister was in her Hybrid-Form, and resembled a _naga_. She hissed: "Are you okay?"

"What are you...?!"

"Hancock was worried about you!" Sandersonia explained, as she slid effortlessly through the trees. "She asked us to come and find you!"

They heard the unmistakable sounds of the Blackbeard Pirates following them through the trees, and Emma's instincts kicked in.

"Transform back to your human-form!" She exclaimed. "Quickly, Sandersonia!"

The massive snake lady complied, and Emma used her ribbons to carry them into the safety of the treetops, before launching some ribbons through the trees, and making it look as if she and Sandersonia had gone that way.

Emma and Sandersonia watched in silence, as the Blackbeard Pirates appeared on the forest floor beneath them, and then ran in the direction that Emma had created the false trail...all with the exception of Teach, who looked up.

"He spotted us!" Sandersonia gasped, as Teach grinned his toothy and malevolent grin.

"It was indecent of you to try and deceive me!" Teach said, as he activated his Devil Fruit powers, much to the horror of the two women up there in the treetops. "Women need to have some decency!" He added, as the powers of darkness arced towards Emma and Sandersonia.

Just then, a sharp and cold voice shouted: "_Not my sister, you bastard_!"

The voice belonged to Boa Hancock, but it was her other sister, Marigold, who attacked. She struck Teach from behind with her halberd, knocking him into the trees.

Emma suddenly grabbed Sandersonia, pushing them both down from the treetops, to fall and land on top of Hancock and Marigold, as she shouted: "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

* * *

"Wow." Luffy sat back, looking stunned, although that might've been because he'd just eaten a whole entire cow.

"You can say that again." Sumi murmured.

"Wow." Luffy repeated, and a few people laughed.

Sumi just shook her head. "That's not what I meant." She fixed her gaze on Vivi. "How do we know that we can trust Vivi, even if she _is_ a friend of yours, Luffy?"

Ace noted something in Sumi's tone, and realised: _She doesn't like her...I wonder why..._

Vivi looked uncomfortable under Sumi's gaze, and fiddled with her hands. "Well..." She began, just as Luffy threw an arm across her shoulders.

"Hey, if Vivi says it's true, then it's true!" Luffy declared, and a few people noticed the way Vivi blushed at the contact.

_Hmm..._ Marco thought, exchanging a glance with Vista. The swordsman merely smiled, from behind his teacup.

"Hey, it's exactly what you guys have been saying, right?" Georgia supplied. "So, as soon as the others get here, and we find Emma, then..."

Sumi looked at her. "_Hai_, but, Georgia-Chan..."

Just then, there was a flash of light, and four people appeared in the room of Dadan's house that they were in.

"Oh, for the love of...not again!" Dadan, who had just come into the room, complained, throwing the trap of cups down on the floor. "Enough with the people appearing!"

Everybody suddenly froze, as the four women detangled themselves from one another.

Hancock suddenly spotted Luffy, as only Hancock could, and she cried out: "Oh my..._Luffy_! You're okay!" She ran to the startle seventeen-year-old, and glomped him, much to his disbelief, and to the shock of Vivi, who was sitting next to Luffy.

Hancock turned to glare very briefly at Vivi, who cringed.

Meanwhile, Emma had stood up, and was holding onto her shoulder. Ace and Law were there in a second.

"Emiko, what happened?" Ace asked her, wincing at the bruise that was already appearing on her shoulder.

"Umm..." She began, as Law gently touched it. "Ow, Law-Chan..."

"Emiko, who attacked you?" Law wanted to know, looking annoyed. "Who the _Hell_ hurt you?"

"Umm..." Emma began to look panicked, and her hands flew to the very _last_ thing that she wanted to fiddle with - her compass.

In a second Marco, Vista, Sumi, Luffy, Law, Ace and Vivi had been transformed into cats.

Hancock, Marigold, Sandersonia, Makino, Dadan and the other Mountain Bandits all looked shocked, to say the very least, as Emma began apologizing again.

"Way to go, Emma." Georgia rolled her eyes.

Hancock stared at Luffy, who was unconscious in her arms, due to being nearly suffocated by Hancock's..._assets_. "Oh...no...Luffy! Luffy, Luffy, _speak_ to me! _Luffy_!" She sobbed.

Emma hurried over to her, and gently pried Luffy away from her, with some difficulty, due to the Empress' strong grasp. It was at that point, that Emma noticed Vivi.

"Oh." Emma blinked, her face turning a very pink colour.

Vivi was a light blue cat, almost silver in colour. Her ears were tipped in a darker-blue colour, that was closer to her hair colour, and so was her tail. She wore her golden necklace with the red stone on it around her neck. She was a beautiful cat.

As the girl and the cat stared at each other, a strange affinity was passed between them, and both of them instantly felt connected.

"Emma, this is Vivi." Georgia offered, taking a casual sip from her tea cup. "You know, Arabasta's Princess?"

"I-I know." Emma stammered.

"Oh, for God's sake..." Sumi, as the little blonde cat, rolled her teal-coloured eyes. "Yeah, she's Arabasta's Princess but, are you ready for this? Her _Highness_ is also of the Kingdom Of the Gods, and the blessed successor to the sacred royal treasure, 'Grace's Heart'." She jumped up onto the table. "She's _Hikari No Hime_."

Ace, Marco and Vista exchanged startled glances, at the sharp tone in Sumi's voice. Something was wrong - Sumi did _not_ like Vivi, that much was for certain.

Emma, however, had completely missed this, as her face lit up. "I-I _knew_ it!" And, still holding Luffy in her arms, she dropped to her knees, so that she was at eye-level with Vivi. "V-Vivi-Sama, I've _really_ wanted to meet you, for a l-long time! You're my favourite female character from the show!" She then gasped, and blushed furiously, realising that Vivi probably had no idea what she'd just meant.

Vivi, however, knew perfectly well what Emma had meant, and smiled widely. "Emma, that makes me so happy to hear that! Yes, the gods told me all about you. And, there's no need to be so formal with me - you can even call me -Chan, if you'd like?" She offered.

Emma swallowed. Call Vivi -Chan? _Princess_ Vivi, her favourite female character from the show, _One_ _Piece_, - Chan? That didn't seem too right, somehow, but...maybe... "V-Vivi-Chama?"

Vivi looked startled, but then she smiled, and sat down. "Yes?"

Emma smiled, as well. "N-nothing. I'm just so happy that you're the Princess we've been searching for."

Vivi nodded, as Carue stared at her in shock, at seeing her as a cat. "Yes...as soon as the others get here, we'll be united."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. Country Road - OoO youtu . be / tj _ Wjk943Fo**

**. In the New World, in canon, Blackbeard meets Bonney and proposes to her. She replies accordingly. XD Go Bonney!**

* * *

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - knowing the mangaka, Zoro would have lost his eye for a reason. ^^ I didn't want to reach a plot-hole, if we find out that Zoro lost his eye for some all-important reason. Then again, we've already hit a few of those, haven't we? And, yes, there's a few other romances here and there! XD Thanks for the review!_

_Guest - yeah, go Emma X Ace!_

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan - maaaaybeeee... ^^ I love The Lion King, too. And, hmm, you'll just have to wait and see! XD Thanks for reviewing!_

_AiSorax3 - thanks for liking my character so much, and I'm glad that you can relate to her, but maybe not so much on the non-trusting thing...anyways, thanks for the review!_

_MsWildLuck - yup, Emma's comeback is WIN. ^^ Ooh, a 500 out of 10, that's epic! Thank you!_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - oh my God, the visions...Mihawk and Shanks...oh my God... *Dies of laughter* Lol, the whole 'I'm-Not-Wearing-Underwear-Today' thing...hmm...well, thanks for the review! XD_


	27. Starless Night

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Parental Warning - this chapter contains:**

**. Mild sexual references**

**. Mild-level violence**

**. Adult themes**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Starless Night

* * *

_Wow..._ Emma thought and, if she'd been in an anime, then her eyes would have been either stars or heart, as she gazed endearingly at Vivi, who was currently speaking over the Den-Den Mushi to the Straw Hat Pirates not present. _Princess Vivi, who I've always admired, in the flesh! And, she's the Princess we've been searching for! It's like a dream..._

Vivi, who had handed the conversation over to Luffy, glanced at Emma and, seeing her looking at her, smiled.

Emma blushed, embarrassed at being caught staring.

"Emma," Vivi said. "You've done a good job, so far. Shall we start the explanations now?"

"Oh yes, let's." Sumi rolled her eyes.

Vivi tried to ignore this, as they all sat back down again, and said: "The two gods, Fate and Destiny, came to visit me one night. They told me about my own, for lack of a better word, destiny, and what I must do. It was no longer safe for me to stay in Arabasta - as you know, the World Government was hunting down young women with links to you all. It would only be a matter of time before they found out about my ties with Luffy and the others." She reached out a hand, and Carue rubbed up against it, cooing. "The gods transported both of us here, to await your arrival."

"Did the gods tell you anything else, Princess?" Marco asked her calmly. "Anything about what Little Death is doing?"

"She's disappeared from their sights," Vivi replied. "But, it's possible that she's still in Infinity's castle."

"Vivi-Chama..." Emma said quietly. "What _is_ Infinity, exactly?"

Vivi's face darkened slightly. "It is a terrible creature from ancient nightmares, one that is capable of destroying _everything_." She looked up at them all. "You remember the poem that Twister taught to you, _ne_?"

"_Mochiron_." Emma and Sumi said in unison.

"_Allies united, under friendship's fire,_

_Bring light to evil's vain desire,_

_Alone you fail, but you will be aligned,_

_Under the rule of a Princess you have yet to find,_

_When you find her, you will know,_

_The light that guides you, she will show,_

_A power needed, for the thirteen,_

_To save the worlds, seen and unseen,_

_Then venture forth into the lair,_

_Of monster from an ancient nightmare,_

_Stand together in the darkness' face,_

_Stand united under Grace_."

"Then, are you ready to learn, what that poem means?" Vivi asked them.

"Shouldn't we wait until the others get here, Vivi?" Sumi asked her, leaning back. "After all, they're as much a part of this as what you are."

"Oh, yes..." Vivi looked embarrassed. "You're right, Sumi..."

"Ahem?" Marco coughed inconspicuously. "Sumi, a word, yoi?"

Sumi just shrugged, but followed the phoenix-man out of the house.

"Meanwhile, what about my sister?" Georgia spoke up.

"We'll get her back." Emma promised. "Don't worry."

"Now, where have I heard _that_ before?" Georgia rolled her eyes, but just sat back. "Okay, whatever, do whatever you must."

"Emiko," Law said. "Let me take a look at your shoulder."

Emma nodded, and let him examine it, while Ace said: "Emiko, what exactly happened to you out there, anyway?"

Emma cringed. _Oh no, what do I do?! I can't tell him that it's because I was completely overpowered by _Blackbeard_ - I mean, we all know what Ace-Chan's temper is like_!

She was looking quite flustered, and everybody stared at her.

"Emiko," Law put a hand on the side of her face. "Who hurt you?"

Emma didn't answer, as Ace glared at Law.

"Umm," Sandersonia spoke up. "It was-"

Emma leapt at her, crash-tackling her, and latching onto her back, putting both of her hands over the snake-lady's mouth. "Ix-nay on the _elling-tay_!" She hissed.

"Who're you calling 'elling-tay'?" Hancock crossed her arms, as she and Marigold glared at Emma. "And, what's the big deal? Why won't you tell your fiancé what happened?" She pointed to Law.

_Uh-oh..._ Emma thought.

"Hang on, what are you _talking_ about?" Ace asked the Empress, looking first at her, and then at Law, who pointedly glared back at him. "_I'm_ Emiko's fiancé."

Makino, Dadan and the other Mountain Bandits were staring between Ace and Law in fascination.

Law smirked slightly. "That's a matter of opinion, isn't it, Firefist?"

Ace glared at him. "Who's opinion? She's _my_ girl, not yours!"

"Why don't you let her tell us that?" Law suggested, and everybody looked at Emma, who tried to hide behind Sandersonia.

_Okay, so now's the time for you to decide, girl!_ Emma realised, as Sandersonia tried to move, but Emma moved with her. _Be brave! Even though, no matter what you decide, somebody is going to be deeply hurt and want to kill the other!_

"_Minna_," Vivi said suddenly, calmly walking over to Emma, and detaching her from Sandersonia. "Why don't we sort out a plan for getting Georgia's sister back?" She switched her gaze over the Vista. "I noticed a few Whitebeard Pirates scouting the island, so no doubt your sources will have figured out where the World Government's base is."

Vista nodded, and smoothed out his moustache. "Yes - we're here to try and find Sumi's Mother, and we've found out that she's in the same place as they are."

"Sumi's Mother?" Vivi repeated.

"Mmhmm." Vista nodded. "She's to be executed in the town square tomorrow night."

"_Vista_!" Sumi yelled, from somewhere outside. "Don't tell _her_ that!"

Vivi nodded slowly, absorbing this news. "If Sumi's Mother's name is Ino, then I think that you're right, and she _is_ where you say she'll be. If that's the case, then you need to be careful - I know how good the Government is at setting traps for people like you."

"What do you mean, 'people like us'?" Sumi said, coming back into the room, with Marco. "You traveled around with Luffy and the others at a point, didn't you?"

"_What_?!" Hancock cried. "Another female crew-mate?! Oh, Luffy, say it isn't so!"

Vivi cringed, and both she and Emma exchanged a glance.

"Let's take a quick walk!" Emma suggested, and Vivi agreed.

They hurried out of the building, to escape all of the questions and all of Boa Hancock's glaring.

Sumi stared after them, her eyes narrowed.

Dadan, meanwhile, had turned to Ace. "Oi, brat! What's this about you getting married?!"

Ace gave her a Look. "Why do you sound so disbelieving, old hag?" He asked her.

Dadan smacked him upside the head. "How did a little punk like _you_ get a girlfriend?!" She sighed. "And how many more people are you intending to bring here?"

"Eight." Luffy replied flatly.

"_Eight_ more people?!" Dadan yelled.

"Well, one's a reindeer," Luffy admitted. "And, there's a nine foot tall skeleton that likes to see girls' panties...okay?"

"No, it's NOT okay!"

* * *

"That sounded a bit tedious in there." Vivi smiled slightly, as she and Emma walked side-by-side along the forest path.

Emma groaned. "Oh, you don't know the _half_ of it, Vivi-Chama." She held up her hand. "Most girls would think that having two guys in love with you is a _good_ thing but, really, it's _horrible_! I mean, I care about them _both_, but..." She fiddled with her necklace. "No matter what Yin said, I _can't_ love _two_ guys, and I know that I'll have to make my choice, sometime..."

"It sounds to me like you already have." Vivi said, and Emma looked up at her in shock. Vivi grinned. "Let me tell you a secret that I've never told anybody else, Emma." _Part of what we're doing as Allies is built on trust, and I _need_ for her to trust me._ "I felt lost for such a long time. When I was working undercover within Baroque Works, I longed for people who could help me, to see the _real_ me."

"People like Luffy and the others?" Emma guessed.

Vivi blushed. "W-well, yes...they helped me, without question, and made me realise that there are so many good people out there. It made me realise that, truly, you can't judge a book by its cover. It's not about your title, or even the way society sees you. It's who _you_ are, in your heart." She put a hand over her chest, and looked up at the blue sky that was visible through the trees. "In a way, I guess that I was _waiting_ for something like this to happen because, when I was watching Luffy and the others sailing away, with _all_ of my heart, I wanted to go with them. Even now, I want to sever all of my ties to Arabasta, and go with them. Being away from them...it _hurts_, Emma." She looked over at the red-haired woman. "Do you understand, Emma? The pain of being alone?"

Emma gazed at Vivi in surprise. "The pain of...being alone?"

Vivi nodded. "Yes. It hurts worse than being physically hurt."

Emma thought back to all of those lonely nights, after arguments with her parents, or not being allowed to go out anywhere. She nodded. "I do...understand...now that I've found these guys, I don't want to ever let them go." She fiddled with her necklace some more. "I want to protect them, but...no matter what decision I make, in regards to Ace-Chan and Law-Chan, one of them is going to be deeply hurt..."

"That feeling that you get..." Vivi mused. "When you're with him...like, no matter what, every day is going to be a sunny day, and that he'll accept you, no matter what?" Emma nodded. Vivi smiled. "Well, no matter what you choose, that's not going to change!"

Emma swallowed, and thought about this. "Vivi-Chama, don't tell anybody, but...I've chosen...Ace-Chan." She finished, in a whisper.

Vivi nodded. "I know you have, Emma."

"Huh, how did...?"

Vivi laughed softly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you Emma but, know this - Law is not going to hate you for the choice that you make." _Trust me, Emma...it'll all work out..._

"Are you sure?" Emma asked her.

Vivi nodded. "Yup."

"Hmm..." Emma said, as they came to a small hill, overlooking Foosha Village. "Oh, Vivi-Chama!" She realised what she was fiddling with around her neck. "This necklace is supposed to belong to you, isn't it?" She remembered. "It's the vessel for some great power, isn't it? Then, I should give it to you, since you're the Princess." She held the necklace out to the Princess.

Vivi stopped her. "You need to hang onto it for awhile, Emma. Faith gave it to you for safe-keeping and, for awhile, things will be too unpredictable." Her eyes were serious. "The time will soon come when I must reveal my identity to the World Government and, when that happens, Grace's Heart _must_ be kept safe." She closed Emma's fingers over the heart-shaped necklace. "However, if you still have that blue necklace, then..."

"You mean the sapphire flower one?" Emma nodded. "I think Law-Chan has that so, if you need it, then we should go back and ask him for it. Why, though, may I ask?"

Vivi glanced at her, and then murmured: "Decoy."

* * *

Dadan nearly had a fit when the other Straw Hat Pirates arrived later on that day, along with the Heart Pirates, as well as Nojiko and Kaya, who had gotten impatient waiting on the Moby Dick.

Everybody not in the know was more than a little unnerved by Bepo's presence.

"You never said anything about a talking bear!" Dadan accused Luffy, who just shrugged and grinned, as they watched Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper surround Vivi.

There were tears (from Nami and Vivi), introductions, laughter and structured chaos.

There was, however, one tense moment, when Vivi turned, to find herself face-to-face with Nico Robin.

Vivi stared up at the woman that had once been Ms. All-Sunday - the woman that had helped Crocodile in trying to take over all of Arabasta.

Robin stared calmly back at the desert Princess, knowing how uncomfortable this must be for her - there was no reason at _all_ as to why Vivi should trust her, not after everything that she'd done to her.

Then, Vivi cast her eyes sideways, and met the steady gaze of one Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy nodded calmly, and Vivi nodded back.

_Ah, so that's how it is._ Robin realised, hiding a small smile, as Vivi held out her hand. Robin shook it, but both women knew that a talk would soon be in order.

For now, however, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Dadan tried not to notice, as her living room was invaded by a bunch of people talking about gods and defying the World Government and what not.

"Okay," Marco carefully rolled out a large map on the table that they were all seated around. "So, we're here," he pointed to a spot midway between Foosha Village and Goa. "And _this_ is the place," he pointed to a spot within Goa. "Where both Ino and Carmilla are being held."

"Knowing the World Government," Nami stated. "The trap that they've set will involve us getting captured and executed, along with Ino. They'll want to make an example of us."

"So, basically," Georgia said. "We have _two_ agendas - rescue my sister and her colleagues, _and_ get Sumi to her Mother." She rolled her eyes. "Sounds simple."

"Of course, we have an advantage." Nami reminded her, nodding towards Emma.

Emma nodded in agreement. "Sure. Whatever I can do."

"You'll do fine, Emmy." Luffy told her.

"Of course, I will be helping you as much as I can." Hancock said firmly. "I have an extensive knowledge of how the World Government is set up here."

"Thanks, Hancock." Luffy said, gratefully.

_He-he said my name! Again_! Hancock blushed.

"Hey, Vivi," Luffy turned to her. "Are you sure that it's okay for you to be here? What about your kingdom?"

"Don't worry, Luffy." Vivi smiled at him. "You guys helped me before, and so now, it's my turn to help you."

"Well, okay, but we'll protect you." Luffy grinned back at her, and Hancock clenched her fists under the table.

Vivi blushed slightly, but said: "Don't worry, Luffy - my main concern is all of you...my...Allies." She admitted, and this earned her a few smiles here and there.

_What a brave, gallant Princess!_ Emma thought. _It seems more like she's protecting us..._

Law was examining the map thoughtfully, one tattooed hand resting on his goateed chin. "I think..." He said slowly, and everybody turned to look at him. "I have a plan..."

* * *

Later that night, Makino couldn't stop smiling. She was just so happy to have Luffy and Ace back. She'd been worried beyond belief when she'd heard about Ace's capture, and she'd been terrified when she'd found out what had happened at Marineford. And, though she wouldn't admit it, Dadan had been, as well.

But, now...

Makino happened to glance out of the window at one point, and witnessed Emma and Sumi setting free a massive spider that they'd caught. Sumi then walked back to the house, but Emma was suddenly caught up in a huge hug by Ace, who had pounced on her from literally out of nowhere.

Makino watched as Ace twirled Emma around, and then hugged her to his chest. She responded by putting her arms around his neck, and kissing him.

"What are you staring at?" Dadan came to the window to stand beside Makino, and looked out. "Oh, my..." She raised an eyebrow. "That little punk..." She shook her head.

"What is it?!" Luffy cried, joining them. "Lemme see...ooh, Ace and Emmy are making love."

"_What_?!" Nami fairly shrieked, charging over to the window as well. She looked out. "You _baka_!" She smacked her captain upside the head. "That's making 'out', not making 'love'!" She then realised that Sanji, Brook, Penguin and Shachi had, right up until then, had their faces pressed to the window, as well. "And what the Hell were _you_ guys expecting to see?!" She hit all of them. "Perverts..." She muttered, crossing her arms.

Nojiko was laughing, as she and Kaya sat back with cups of tea. "Yeah, you tell em', sis."

Nami nodded in a way that meant 'I know I'm right'.

"Well, our Nami-Chan's never been short on self-assurance." Sumi commented, coming inside. "Hancock-Chan, everything's been confirmed, and matches up with Law's plan - Doflamingo and Mihawk are indeed stationed near the city, close to...well, close to the town square." She finished, nodding.

Vista considered this, as he smoothed out his moustache, as did Zoro, who kept fiddling with his swords.

Hancock nodded. "Yes, they're taking no chances, not when it comes to everybody here." She gazed sternly around at them all, except for Luffy, who she gazed endearingly at. "Breaking five people out of Government confines is no simple task, either."

"Who says that we're breaking my Mother out?" Sumi wanted to know. "I just wanted to talk to her."

"You don't care if they execute her or not?" Vivi asked, surprised.

Sumi gave her a Look. "Not everybody has to like their parents, Vivi."

Luffy blinked, recalling another blonde that had said almost those exact words to him. He watched as Sumi left, and then turned to Law, when the surgeon sighed.

"Emiko may regret her hesitations in telling Sumi-Ya about her Father." He said, as Emma and Ace came into the house.

"Well, after seeing _that_, how can you blame me, Law-Chan?" The red-head asked, putting her hands on her hips. "She's already torn up enough inside, since her own Mother tried to kill _Oyaji's_ daughter."

"What's the big deal?" Georgia spoke up. "Just tell her the truth - it's better than lying to her. Just say: 'Sumi, you know that bastard, Akainu? He's your Father'." She shrugged. "There, easy."

"Uh, Georgia..." Emma had gone pale.

Georgia sighed. "She's right behind me, isn't she?" She then turned, to see the blonde-haired nurse standing there, looking stunned.

"Sumi-Chan..." Emma began, but Sumi pushed past her, and ran. When she'd left the house, she activated her Devil Fruit powers, unfurling her snow-white wings and leaping into the sky. "Sumi-Chan!"

"Emma-Nee-Chan, wait!" Franky called to her, but she shook her head.

"No, I can't!" She cried. She was suddenly grabbed from behind. She turned around to see Marco. "What are you...?!"

"Emma, let her go, yoi." Marco said calmly. "I know Sumi better than you do - she's gone back to _Oyaji_, so you don't have to worry about her."

Emma turned her head back in the direction that Sumi had just disappeared into, her eyes full of worry. "Sumi-Chan..."

* * *

"_Oyaji_!"

Whitebeard's head snapped up, at the sound of one of his daughter's voice. He watched as Sumi flew towards him, her face streaked with tears. He easily caught her when she flew to him, and she buried her face against his chest, sobbing.

The few people that were on deck wisely chose to leave, giving the two of them their space.

"My dear Sumi, what is it?" Whitebeard asked calmly, gently rubbing the spot on her back between her wings.

Sumi sniffled. "They...they just told me...Akainu is my Father! My actual, biological Father!" She exclaimed. "I mean, as if it wasn't bad enough that my Mother tried to kill your daughter, but now the man that tried to kill Ace-Kun is my Father?! Why me?!" She sobbed.

Whitebeard waited, keeping one hand still because she was kneeling on it; and the other hand he used to rub her back, calming her down.

Sumi's sobs eventually subsided, and she sniffled again.

Whitebeard said: "Sumi, this isn't just about that, is it?"

Sumi shook her head, making her pigtails swing. "Uh-uh..." She took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "I just...I _don't_ get what the gods are _doing_, _Oyaji_. I mean, they must be _crazy_, choosing _Vivi_...like, an _actual_ Princess, for _this_ job? No way..." She shook her head again.

Whitebeard was calm. "Perhaps it is for the best. After all, who better to guide them to the light, than one who knows what being a Princess is all about?"

"Maybe..." Sumi considered this. "Perhaps...I'm just reading too much into this, aren't I?"

"You always do, Sumi." Whitebeard chuckled gently. "Know this, however - as far as I am concerned, everybody is a child of the sea, so it doesn't matter _who_ your biological parents are. You, like the rest of the women on this ship, are every bit my daughter, as much as my blood-daughter."

Sumi looked up at him. "Do you...know where she is? Did Grace tell you?" She wiped her eyes.

Whitebeard nodded. "She did. do you wish for me to tell you?"

Sumi shook her head, smiling sadly. "I already know, _Oyaji_. I already know..."

* * *

"Tomorrow feels like the start of some great battle." Emma mused. She and Ace were sitting on the rooftop of Dadan's house, waiting for Sumi's return. "I feel like something is going to happen..."

"I know." Ace mused, leaning back, just as a shooting star streaked across the sky. "Did you see that?!"

"Yeah!" Emma grinned. "Quick, make a wish!" Ace gave her an odd look. "Just do it!"

He shrugged, but closed his eyes, and thought: _I wish...no, wait, that sounds cliche...aww, heck, you already know what it is that I want..._

He opened his eyes suddenly, when Emma kissed him. She drew back, smiling.

"Emiko?"

"No more indecisiveness, Ace-Chan." She whispered. "No matter what happens, it's _you_."

He stared at her, and thought that, somehow, she was _glowing_, despite there being next to no moon. Tomorrow night would be a new moon.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, just in case. "I mean, yesterday, you had no idea, and now..."

"Yeah, it confuses the Hell out of me, too," Emma admitted, shrugging. "But, I think, deep down, I've always known."

"Even before we met?" Ace asked hopefully. "Was I your favourite character?"

"Umm, no, actually," Emma looked sheepish. "Before, it was...Luffy...then Sanji-Kun...then Zoro...then Shanks...then Lucci...then Jyabura...then Iceburg..."

"Okay, okay, I get the picture," Ace pouted. "I'm not number one."

"Oh, yes, you _are_!" She said firmly, placing a hand on his chest, over his heart. "I've made my choice, and now you're probably going to wish that I _hadn't_." She smirked. "You'll find that I can be _very_ possessive!"

Ace returned the smirk, grabbing her wrists, and flipping her over, so that he was now on top of her. "Not as possessive as _me_, I'm _sure_." He whispered in her ear, letting his lips trace her jawline, until they reached her lips. "You're _mine_, Emiko. _All_ _mine_."

She shivered, a reaction that had nothing to do with the cold, since Ace's body was now very warm on top of hers. "Ace-Chan...?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you...for being patient with me while I made up my mind. Do you still want me?"

He tightened his grip on her wrists. "_Always_."

* * *

The next day, Nami checked on Sumi, who had come back later on that night, and seemed in need of rest before they set out. She then went searching for Emma and Ace, who _hadn't_ come back in, and found them on the rooftop.

"Okay, you two," Nami said cheerfully, climbing the ladder to the rooftop. "Up and at em', it's time to..." She trailed off, seeing both Emma and Ace sleeping with their bodies woven around each other, which did nothing to hide the fact that the two of them were barely dressed. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING ON THE MORNING OF RECKONING?!"

* * *

Nami grumbled to herself, as she angrily ate her breakfast, and everybody bustled about around her at the breakfast table.

A few people, namely Shachi and Penguin, seemed to sigh when Emma and Ace came in, and stared at a particular part of the young red-head.

"Hey!" Emma cried, correctly interpreting their stares. "Don't sigh and stare at my lower-half!" She and a rather sheepish-looking Ace sat down, and were immediately served breakfast by Sanji. Nojiko and Kaya glanced over with some interest, as Robin and Makino exchanged small smiles.

"They finally went and did it." Sanji mumbled, lighting up a cigarette. He shook his head, but respected Ace too much to say anything more. Now, if it had've been that moss-head, then he would have had a thing or two to say to _him_...

"I'm _telling_ you, nothing happened!" Emma exclaimed.

"Oh?" Sumi had just walked in, and overheard the conversation. "Are you sure? Because, when I flew in last night..."

As a few people gaped, and Emma buried her face in her hands, Luffy looked at his brother.

"So, Ace, did you really...you know...do...it?" Luffy asked innocently. He knew enough about sex to, Ace suddenly realised, have about a zillion and one follow up questions.

So, it was Emma who answered. "_No_, Luffy, we did _not_."

"Then _how_ come he was lying on _top_ of you, Emma?!" Nami snapped, spearing her fork into her omelette. "Why didn't you come in for the night?"

"Well, we _started_ to...umm...yeah..." Emma muttered, exchanging an embarrassed glance with Ace, who looked just as embarrassed, as everybody gaped at them. "But then..."

"Then?" Luffy questioned.

"Ace-Chan fell asleep." Emma muttered. "So, I couldn't get up without pushing him off of the roof."

A few people groaned, as Luffy started laughing. "I'm surprised he didn't _suffocate_ you, Emmy!"

Ace whacked his brother upside the head. "Shut up, Luffy!"

A few other people laughed.

Emma was blushing red by this stage, and looked across at Sumi, who was smiling at her. Then, she happened to glance at Law, who was glaring at Ace.

_Uh-oh..._

* * *

"In a few short hours, we move in." Emma muttered. She was back on the rooftop but, this time, it was with Sumi. They were sitting side-by-side, and talking.

Sumi nodded. "Are you scared? It's going to be dangerous..."

"Danger?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "I _laugh_ in the face of danger - mwahahaha!"

Sumi giggled. "I see...you and Ace-Kun...really are perfect, for each other, aren't you?"

"Why's that?" Emma blinked.

"You two balance each other out, so perfectly." Sumi explained. "He's calm when you're not, but you're able to calm _him_ down. He's confident, and you're insecure, but you're able to comfort _him_ about his own insecurities. But, you've also got some similarities, like with your recklessness..." Her smile faded. "Just don't die, okay, Emma-Chan?"

"I'm not going to die, Sumi-Chan." Emma shook her head. "Not there, anyway - that's...that what I told Teach, when I encountered him yesterday."

Sumi gasped softly. "T-Teach?! You mean..._he's_ the one who hurt you?!" She shook her head. "No wonder you didn't want to tell Ace-Kun..."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I know that he and Thatch were friends, and that Teach was a member of Ace-Chan's division..."

"No, it's worse than that, Emma-Chan." Sumi said slowly. "Ace-Kun has been very protective of me, since he rescued me from that place I was in. He always said it would take a very special man to be _worthy_ of being my lover and, well...Thatch was it." She looked up at Emma, smiling softly. "Tha-Chan was my lover."

Emma just stared at her, unable to comprehend this. Thatch had been Sumi's..._lover_? And, Teach had..._killed_ him? "Oh, Sumi-Chan...that's..."

"I know." Sumi nodded. "But, it gets _worse_."

"How?" Emma whispered. "How could it possibly be even _worse_ than that, Sumi-Chan?"

"Because I was pregnant."

Emma paled. "What?"

"Teach stabbed me in the stomach, with the same blade that he'd used to cut out my beloved's heart, and...well, that was it." Sumi clasped her hands. "Ace-Kun and the others didn't know - I didn't tell them. Only the nurses and _Oyaji_ knew. Emma-Chan, I know that...being a Mother, is another part of your dream, so...that's why...you and Ace-Kun _can't_ die! Got it?"

Emma pulled Sumi into a fierce hug. "I understand." She whispered. "I'm so sorry, Sumi-Chan..."

"Don't be..."

From the ladder leading up to the roof Vivi, who was wearing the blue flower necklace, rested her forehead on one of the rungs, and sighed.

* * *

"Y-your Majesty!" A particularly ugly-looking palace guard of the kingdom of Goa scurried into the throne room, where the even uglier-looking King and his wife and daughter sat on lavish thrones, wearing lavish garments and lavish crowns.

"Yes, what is it?" The King, whose name was Carmichael Ackerly, sneered down his nose at the guard.

"There-there's somebody here to see you!" The guard stated.

"Send them away." Ackerly waved his hand dismissively. "I did not grant an audience with anybody today."

"B-but, Sire!" The guard looked frantic. "She-she says she's...she's the..."

"Who is she?" Ackerly rolled his eyes, as he leaned back in his throne.

"She's the Princess of Arabasta! Princess Nefertari Vivi!"

The King stood up swiftly, his eyes widening in disbelief. Next to him, his portly wife, Gertrude, seemed in shock. Their teenaged daughter, Sylphy, who had her Mother's blonde hair and father's sharp, green eyes, narrowed those eyes.

"Princess Nefertari Vivi?"

"W-well!" The King blinked, scrambling for the right words. _A noble, all the way from the Grand Line?!_ "I-invite her in, you _baka_! For God's sake!"

"Y-yes, right away, your Majesty!" The guard scurried out.

Ackerly sat back down.

"Well," Gertrude fanned herself with a small fan. "This _is_ a shock..."

"Well, _I_ find it strange that she'd be showing her face _here_, after what happened to _her_ kingdom." Sylphy stated bluntly. "_I_, for one, have _no_ desire to meet with a girl that can't even manage her own _people_." She got up, and stalked out, but then, curiosity got the better of her, and she hid behind the drapery, watching and listening as Vivi came in.

* * *

"Wow, it's been awhile since we've been back here." Ace commented, as he and Luffy stared up at the huge walls of Goa.

"Yeah..." Luffy agreed. "Remember when we snuck in here with Sabo to try some ramen?"

"Sure do..." Ace smiled, almost wistfully. "That was fun..."

Luffy nodded, also looking wistful.

_Sabo_? Wondered Nami, who was standing by, along with Usopp, Franky and Brook. Of course, they were all as cats.

"Come on!" Said Sumi, who was already halfway through the gates into the city, weaving through people's legs. "Or else, we're gonna miss the connection!"

"Hey, wait for us, Sumi!" Luffy raced after her, and the others followed.

"Yeah, you don't even know where you're going!" Ace added. "Sumi!"

_I do...somehow, I just..._know_..._ Sumi thought. _I'm more worried about those who'll be...taking on my Father..._

* * *

_"Robin, Marco...no matter what happens, do _not_ let Akainu get near the city. Meanwhile, Hancock, you get Doflamingo and Mihawk to get to our trap. I don't care _how_ you do it, just _do_ it. Meanwhile...I am going to pay a visit to King Ackerly..."_

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Georgia whispered to Emma, as the two of them walked behind Vivi, with Carue and Chopper (who was in his Walk-Form).

"No." Emma whispered back. They didn't dare raise their voices any louder, as they walked through the spacious white halls of the castle of Goa.

"And, why does this dress have to be so _tight_?" Georgia complained, tugging at the waist-line. "I can't work _out_ in it..."

"I hear ya." Emma muttered, a bit too loudly this time, and a few guards began to murmur.

Vivi spun around, glaring at them. "_Silence_, maids!" She snapped, in a very un-Vivi-like voice. "And, hurry up, or else I'll make you switch places with them!" She gestured to Chopper and Carue, the latter who seemed to be depressed, due to his mistress' acting job.

She was carrying herself quite well in the role of a stuck-up Princess, in order to "impress" the Goa royal family.

"Oh, my..." Said a new voice, and they all turned to see Sylphy standing there. "It seems that I was quite mistaken about you, Princess Vivi. Walk with me?" She offered her hand to the Arabasta Princess, who nodded, and took it. To Emma and Georgia, she added: "You two, take her things to her room. You know where it is." She turned her nose up at them, and Vivi copied her, which was actually fairly comical, and Emma tried not to laugh, as the two Princesses walked away.

"It's amazing." Law, in his cat-form, said, from where he was perched beneath Carue's chullo.

"What is?" Emma and Georgia asked in unison.

"That they're both Princesses, but have nothing in common." Law stated calmly.

"You get used to it, here, Law-Chan." Emma stated. She played with the blue necklace that was under her dress, and wished that she and Vivi hadn't had to switch - it made her feel a whole lot weaker. "Vivi-Chama is in a completely different _league_ to everybody else here. Now, come on, we'd better find Carmilla and the others."

"I think that I can help you with that." A voice said.

* * *

"Look at all these people." Nami said, shaking her head. "It's disgusting, how they're all here to see an execution." She caught Sumi looking at her. "Then again, considering who it _is_...?"

Sumi nodded. They were perched on a balcony, over-looking the town square. From their high-vantage point, they could see people milling about, and one blonde woman, tied to a stake.

They also counted about five hundred Marines.

"Well, now what do we do?" Usopp wanted to know.

"Now, we wait for Emma-Chan to give us the signal..." Sumi muttered, turning her teal eyes towards the castle. _Come on, Emma-Chan..._

* * *

"Fox-San!" Chopper cried happily, recognizing the tall lady. "What are you doing here?"

"Filming a movie." She stated, gesturing to her nearby camera-crew. "The World Government wants this execution broadcasted all throughout..."

"B-but...but that's a _snuff_-film!" Georgia exclaimed.

"They do this kind of thing all the time, Georgia." Emma muttered, before turning back to Fox. "Fox, we need your help...you _are_ on our side, right?"

Fox regarded her calmly. "My sister is a Marine." She said. "She's here, right now."

"_Please_ don't let her and Zoro meet up..." Emma muttered.

"But, so is Sugar." Fox went on. "And, she's grown quite fond of you all, especially of Nami. Is Nami here?"

"She's in the town square." Emma replied. "Ino, the lady who's being executed, is the Mother of one of our friends."

"Ah, I see." Fox nodded. "I should have known that you'd all be involved somehow."

"Are you going to help us?" Georgia asked her. "Please...my sister's in the castle somewhere...her name is Carmilla Brown! She and her colleagues..."

"Carmilla?" Fox repeated, and then she shook her head. "I had coffee with her yesterday. She's been quite worried about you, Georgia. Come, I'll take you to her."

"Thank you." Emma and Georgia said automatically, as they began to follow Fox through the halls.

"Oh, by the way, Emma...what on _Earth_ are you _wearing_?" Fox wanted to know.

"Maid outfit?"

Fox shook her head. "That won't do. When things get messy - which, no doubt, they _will_ - you'll need something that you can move in...let me take care of that..."

* * *

Makino, Kaya and Nojiko paused, before entering Party's Bar. They weren't sure what to expect when they walked in there but, whatever it was, it wasn't what they saw.

The bar was full of pirates, who were loudly celebrating...something.

It wasn't obvious, and it didn't matter, because Makino completely forgot the plan, as soon as she locked gazes with somebody sitting on a bar-stool, with a tankard in his hand, and a grin on his face.

"S-Shanks?" Makino took a half-step back.

Shanks' eyes lit up as soon as he saw Makino and, setting aside his tankard, he stood up, crossed the bar towards her, and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Makino! Where've you been?!"

"Uh, well, I...uh..."

A little girl with blonde hair, meanwhile, had latched onto Nojiko. "Nojiko! Where's Nami?"

Nojiko had to laugh. "She's in the city at the moment, Sugar."

"Oh." Sugar looked up at Nojiko with wide eyes. "Is she going to watch the execution?"

"No." Nojiko shook her head. "She's going to stop it."

This caught the attention of some of the Red Hair Pirates.

"Stop it?" Benn Beckman repeated, looking across at Nojiko. "And, how does she intend to do that?"

"It's not just her." Kaya shook her head, looking a little bit shy in front of all of these people. "She's..."

"Wait a minute!" Yasopp stood up suddenly, pointing dramatically at Kaya. "I know you! You're the young mistress of the mansion, back from my home village of Syrup!"

"What a cute girl!" Somebody else remarked.

Kaya blushed a bit, though more out of anger than anything else. "Yes, but please listen to me..."

"And how do _you_ intend to stop the execution?" Yasopp asked her.

A few people laughed.

Kaya's face turned red then, and she yelled: "_Would you all please listen to me_?!"

There was not a sound in the bar after that, as everybody stared at the normally soft-spoken blonde-haired girl.

Marco then stepped into the bar, and put a hand on Kaya's shoulder. "None of you were a part of the plan, yoi." He spoke calmly, but he was glaring at Shanks. "Luckily, Law made acceptances."

"Did he say Law?" Somebody muttered. "As in, _Trafalgar_ Law?"

Shanks faced Marco. "Perhaps you'd better tell us _exactly_ what is going on."

Marco nodded. "Perhaps I had better. After all, I'm sure that your only reasons for wanting to help us would be if Luffy were involved, which he is."

As Shanks looked shocked, Makino supplied: "It's true." She grabbed onto Shanks' arm. "Shanks, right now, Luffy and Ace are attempting to stop that execution! Meanwhile, Princess Vivi is up at the castle, about to declare _war_ on the World Government!"

"Princess Vivi, as in the heiress to the throne of Arabasta?" Benn looked surprised, as a few people began to murmur.

Shanks gazed thoughtfully at Makino, before asking: "Okay, my first question for all of this, is _why_?"

* * *

"And, so, that's the entire story." Makino said, when she'd finished explaining everything (with Nojiko and Kaya filling in the gaps). "I don't understand much about this whole _gods_ thing, but I know that Luffy and Ace are doing something far more dangerous than they've ever done before."

"Right," Shanks nodded in agreement. _Well, well, well, looks like the anchor's making an even bigger statement than before..._ "So, where is everybody right now?"

"Right now," Nojiko spoke up. She was used to dealing with these sorts of people, but she quite liked the Red Hair Pirates. She sensed their honour, for one thing and, besides, one of them was Usopp's Dad. "Zoro and Vista are awaiting Doflamingo and Mihawk - the Boa sisters, who are on our side, are leading them to a spot, where they will battle." _Probably most epically, too._ "Meanwhile, my sister, Sumi, Luffy, Ace, Usopp, Franky and Brook are waiting in the town square."

"What are they waiting for?" Shanks asked her.

"The signal." Nojiko replied. "You see, they're all in their cat forms. Meanwhile, Vivi is at the castle, about to make a statement that will renounce her title as Princess Of Arabasta, since she's _Hikari No Hime_. When that happens, Emma will use her magical compass to transform those in the square back into humans."

"What happens then?" Benn asked her, already calculating about six hundred things that would happen once that happened.

"Well, with the Heart Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates standing by..." Nojiko began when, suddenly, a few people gasped, cutting her off.

A tanned hand had just appeared in a swirl of cherry blossom petals, right in the middle of the table.

"It's Robin's signal!" Kaya gasped, as Robin's hand held up three fingers. "Oh no..."

"That means that all three of them are coming." Nojiko muttered, clenching her fists on the table.

"All three of who?" Somebody asked.

"The Admirals." The lips that were on Robin's hand spoke, startling a few unknowing people. "Akainu, Aokiji and Kizaru are almost upon you." The hand disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms, leaving them with: "I'm sending Whitebeard your way."

* * *

"_Georgia_!" Carmilla cried, jumping up, as her sister came into the room. They hurried to each other and embraced. "What are you...?!"

"We've come to get you out of here." Georgia gestured to Emma, Law, Chopper and Carue. "I know it doesn't look like much. I mean, our enemies are an entire _World_ _Government_. We are you, a duck, a tanuki,"

"I'm a reindeer, dammit!"

"A doctor, that girl there, and _me_...no, wait, don't count me." She added, as an after-thought.

Carmilla hugged her sister again, and then looked at Emma. Her eyes narrowed. "You..."

"I'm just a simple TAFE student," Emma shrugged. "Who got pulled into all of this by mistake. technically, I haven't done anything wrong. I'm going to help you guys, though."

"How?" Penelope asked. "The Government here..."

"Are no match for us." Emma said firmly. "Right now, somebody very important is about to throw everything away, just to help us. It's our job to make sure that her sacrifice _isn't_ in vain."

"Wht do you mean, throw everything away?" Robert asked curiously.

"Okay," Emma clasped her hands, looking down at the floor, as all eyes were on her. "R-right now, Vivi-Chama - she's the heiress to a country's throne - is about to announce that she's siding with the Straw H-Hat Pirates, and she's going to do it in f-front of everybody. She's going to announce h-herself as _Hikari No Hime_ - the Princess Of Light - and that's wh-when I'll transform our friends from c-cats back to h-humans."

"Then," Law stepped in, coming to Emma's rescue since she was struggling to speak at this point. "They're going to stop an execution, and we're going to use that distraction to get you all out of here."

"But, what about the Admirals?" Penelope asked, a little bit fearfully. "Those three are..."

"Taken care of." Georgia said firmly. She smirked a bit. "It's good to have friends." She added, glancing at Emma, who nodded.

"I see." Carmilla looked at Georgia with a fair amount of pride, before turning to her colleagues. "Shall we go?"

"_Hold_ it!" Fox put up her hand firmly. "None of you will have even a _remote_ chance of getting past the palace guards dressed like _that_! (She was eyeing Emma's outfit). "Come with me." She added, gesturing.

The others exchanged glances, but what could they do? They followed Fox out of the room.

* * *

"So, your kingdom is back on its feet, I presume?" Sylphy asked.

"Of course." Vivi replied, wishing that she had practiced for this charade a bit more. With each passing second, she was feeling more and more nervous. Emma's necklace was like a choker-chain around her neck – it felt heavier than it should, and Vivi could never get used to wearing it. She tried not to tug at it, as she added: "It would have been nice to have seen the ones responsible executed, however." That was only half a lie.

"I understand." Sylphy tilted her chin up. "Of course, letting one's kingdom fall into such a state was _most_ unfortunate. And, how, exactly, did you manage to restore peace to your kingdom?"

_By putting my faith and trust in the most wonderful and courageous people in the entire history of the universe!_ Vivi wanted to scream but, instead, she just swallowed her feelings, and stated, rather coldly: "A Princess does what she must, to ensure that her kingdom does not fall into shambles."

"So it would seem." Sylphy regarded Vivi carefully. "Would you like to watch the execution of one of our own convicted criminals?"

"Must I?" Vivi raised an eyebrow. "I am quite tired and would like to retire to my bedroom."

"No, you simply _cannot_ miss this!" Sylphy insisted, taking Vivi rather forcefully by the hand, and leading her over to a balcony. "From here, we can see the entire kingdom."

"I see." Vivi nodded. _That's a good thing._ Her dark eyes scanned the kingdom, searching the city for the town square, and for her friends. _There they are_! She spotted a collective group of cats perched on a balcony, over-looking the square. Below, Vivi could see crowds of noble people gathered around the balcony, waving to Sylphy who ignored them all. Vivi could also see another balcony just below them, one that jutted out a bit further and, as Vivi watched, a group of people strolled out onto the balcony.

Vivi immediately recognized Emma, Law, Georgia, Chopper and Carue. She also vaguely recognized the older red-haired stranger that they were with, as movie director Moonbay Fox, and the men that were with her must have been her teamsters.

Vivi also noticed that Emma and Georgia appeared to have underwent some big dramatic costume-change, which was a little bit shocking for Vivi to see.

Georgia now wore a blue outfit that matched her eyes. It consisted of a tight-fitting v-neck top with rounded sleeves, that was cut away at the sides but long at the front and at the back, kind of like a skirt. She also wore a very short pair of dark blue shorts, grey ankle boots and grey gloves, as well as a grey belt.

Emma was wearing a black faux leather corset over a see-through, medium-sleeved grey top, and a pair of short black shorts as well as a black skirt that was similar to the long bits of Georgia's top. She also wore black ankle boots and a black belt. (Would she _ever_ steer away from all-black?). The blue necklace glittered around her neck.

As Vivi looked down, Emma happened to look up, and they made eye-contact. A signal was passed between them, and Vivi turned to Sylphy.

"You wouldn't happen to have a Baby Den-Den Mushi I could borrow?" Vivi asked Sylphy, who just stared at her. "I need to make an announcement." She added, and Sylphy raised an eyebrow. "An important one."

Sylphy just shrugged, and summoned a maid to retrieve the bronze-plated Baby Den-Den Mushi that was, like, three feet away from her.

Vivi's heart was hammering in her chest, as she held the receiver in her hand, and it had nothing to do with her fear of public speaking. This was it. This was the point where she would cross over, and throw away her title, and for what?

_For friendship…for her Allies, which were united under friendship's fire…_

"Attention, everybody."

_In order to bring light to evil's vain desire…_

"I, Princess Nefertari Vivi, of Arabasta, have an announcement to make."

_Because, by themselves, they would all fail but, together, they were stronger than any other force…_

"I don't know how to say this, short of just saying it."

_Under the rule of a Princess, they were invincible…_

"I am no longer who I used to be."

_Her light was the most powerful force imaginable, and was capable of leading the way through the Spirit Realm…_

"For, you see, I have come to a decision."

_The thirteen of them would need all of their power, if they were to stop Infinity from erasing the worlds and plunging everything into darkness and chaos…_

"And, that decision is to renounce my title as Princess Of Arabasta."

_Infinity, the monster from an ancient nightmare, needed to be stopped…_

"And, as of today…"

_In order to defeat her, the ten Allies, plus the Princess and her First Knight, had to be united under the power of Grace's Heart…_

"I am joining the Straw Hat Pirates, as the _Hikari No Hime_ that the World Government so desperately wanted to destroy!"

_This is the way that it has to be…for now, I'll play along…_

Sylphy was staring at Vivi in shock, as was everybody in the square below them, and even in the town square, where her voice had carried to. The cats that were there stared at Vivi, especially Luffy, who had gone very still. Vivi, as if she could see him, was staring back at him.

_Please, Luffy…let me come with you…_ Vivi thought, silently. Then, she raised her head, and held her arms out. "_Hikari No Tempest_!"

Down below her, Emma's hand flew to her compass and, when her hand brushed against it, the light emitted from it, far stronger than it had ever been before, and reached all the way out to the square, transforming the cats that were there into humans.

"Okay, guys, let's go!" Luffy shouted, standing up, as they jumped down into the square below. _Vivi…I'm so glad that you're coming with us…_

And, at that moment, there was a huge eruption from the outskirts of town.

* * *

The battle between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates and the three Admirals was in full-swing, and it made the battle at Marineford look like child's-play. It was a mutual agreement between red and white to team up to take on the three Admirals, and nobody had _ever_ seen such a clash of powers before. Especially not in a quiet little village like Foosha.

Makino, Nojiko and Kaya were in charge of evacuating the village, and getting everybody to the outskirts of the forest. When it came to where the safest place for them to be was, everybody voted a huge forest filled with man-eating animals over a village being destroyed by some of the world's strongest men.

"This way, quickly!" Makino directed people. "Hurry!" She turned her head, just in time to see a massive wave of magma arcing towards her. She gasped – there was nothing else that she could do. She couldn't run…her feet were frozen.

Somebody suddenly grabbed her, pushing her out of the way just in time. They landed roughly on the ground several feet away, and Makino knew at once who it was.

"Shanks, are you…?!"

Shanks stood up suddenly, yanking Makino to her feet and pushing her behind him – in the next movement he drew his sword, and used it to block Sakazuki's attack.

Makino was frozen in shock, staring at the intense hatred in the Admiral's eyes, before a voice cut through the intensity of the situation. "Admiral Sakazuki, sir!" A Marine officer shouted above the sounds of the battle. "The Straw Hat Pirates have infiltrated the main square! They're storming the execution platform!"

"As I thought they would." Sakazuki muttered, pushing against Shanks' sword with an awful lot of strength, in an attempt to destroy both Shanks and Makino with lava.

"And, sir…P-Princess Nefertari Vivi!" The same Marine suddenly ducked, as a wave of ice courtesy of Adiral Kuzan arced overhead – it was shattered by the power of the Gura Gura No Mi. "She-she just made an announcement to the entire city of Goa, sir!"

"What about it?" Sakazuki sent a wave of magma towards Shanks, who grabbed Makino and dragged her out of the way.

"She-she's renounced her claim to the kingdom of Arabasta and, as of today, is officially joining the Straw Hat crew!"

"Why would she do that?" Sakazuki demanded to know, turning to gaze coldly at the Marine, who shrunk back.

"B-because she's…_H-Hikari No Hime_, s-sir…"

* * *

In the town square, there was absolute chaos. The Straw Hat Pirates, plus Ace, were creating as much mayhem as possible, in order for Sumi to be able to get through the blockade, to where her Mother was.

Ino raised her head slightly, watching the chaos unfold, and she bit her lip in distaste. "Disgusting pirates…" She muttered, watching as the one called Monkey D. Luffy sent a wave of Marines flying with his rubbery arm. _If I'm to die today, then I want it to be over with soon…curse this distraction…_

And, just then, somebody with long blonde pigtails came flying – literally – through the crowd, and landed on the platform in front of Ino.

Sumi looked up, staring flatly at the woman who had given her life – and then sold her into slavery – for the first time in seven years.

"Hello, Mother." Sumi said coldly.

Ino stared back at her daughter, disdain clear upon her face, as she said, just as coldly: "I am no Mother of yours, pirate."

"Fine then, have it your way." Sumi shrugged. "You know, most people in your position are bemoaning about their regrets by now, Ino."

"The only regret that I have," Ino said, in a low voice. "Is giving birth to _you_, Sumi."

Sumi's blank expression wavered ever-so-slightly at these words, but she shrugged it off, and stated: "You should see by now how the World Government treats everybody. Even you, who never betrayed them, is being punished – sent like a pig to slaughter.

"If I am to die here, then that is the destiny that Fate handed me." Ino replied.

"No," Sumi shook her head, her white wings deflecting various bullets that suddenly came flying at her. "I know Fate, personally – being a Mythical Zoan and all – and, I gotta tell you that _you_ did this to yourself. You and my…and Akainu." She spoke the name bitterly.

"Don't you _dare_ speak about your Father that way!" Ino snapped, losing her cool momentarily. "He is a great man!"

"A great man that kills innocent people like it's nothing!" Sumi snapped back. "You people are all so sure of yourselves, that you've forgotten why it is that we fall in love in the first place!"

"Oh, I'm sure of myself." Ino said, suddenly smiling, although it was bitter-sweet. "I'm sure of the World Government, and of its plan to destroy each and every single one of you this day…" She glanced up at the sky, which was turning into twilight. "Or, on this darkest of nights."

"You're not making any sense." Sumi shook her head. "Look, just tell me – why did you try and kill Whitebeard's daughter?"

Ino's eyes blazed. "Because that man is _evil_, and any child of his is a _demon_ child! One cannot allow such a thing to live, and that _includes_ Firefist Ace! He deserves to die here on this day!"

A number of razor-sharp feathers were suddenly fired from Sumi's wings, cutting into her Mother's hair and clothes, but not slicing into her skin. "Ace-Kun is the greatest man alive, Ino." Sumi said angrily, her voice quivering. "He saved me from the slavery that _you_ got me into, and I know that I can _never_ repay that debt! I owe him – and Whitebeard – my _everything_!"

"There is no room in this world for filth like you and your pirate friends, Sumi!" Ino told her.

Sumi grabbed her Mother's necklace – the symbol of Goa nobles; a daisy with three feathers – and pulled it, forcing her Mother to look her in the eye. "They're _family_." She said firmly, pure anger in her voice now, but also pride. "I will _never_ renounce my love or my respect for them. And none of them will die today, as many of my brothers and sisters did at Marineford."

Ino chuckled without mirth. "Ah, Sumi, how incredibly naïve you still are – _everybody_ in this city who has not evacuated will die today, when the flood-gates are opened."

Sumi froze. "What?"

* * *

Vivi was running through the halls of the castle of Goa, and she literally ran into Emma, who grabbed her and managed to stop them both from falling, as Law, Carue, Fox, her team, the police officers, Chopper and Georgia caught up with them (Georgia was riding on Carue, since she'd had little to no training to increase her running capabilities).

"Does anybody remember how to get out of here?!" Georgia asked.

"I do." Fox said. "Everybody follow me." She instructed.

Law raised an eyebrow, but obeyed, and they turned a corner – to come face-to-face with a series of guns, being pointed at them by Marines.

"Aaah!" Chopper yelled.

Emma and Law immediately moved to the front, blocking mainly Vivi from the bullets that came flying at them.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Shield_!"

"_Room_!"

As Emma blocked the bullets with her ribbons, Law's Room quickly took care of the Marines, and they continued on.

"Wow, you two work well together." Penelope commented, as they ran down a staircase.

"Yeah, but she chose the other guy, not him." Georgia smirked.

"Shut up, Georgia!" Emma snapped, just as they rounded _another_ corner and, this time, they didn't come face-to-face with Marines.

Instead, there was just one man there. He wore a thick white suit adorned with metal-like knobs on the front, and a cape. Completing the look was a square-shaped helmet.

"A World Noble!" Vivi gasped.

"Pirates!" The World Noble gasped. He reached for his Den-Den Mushi.

"Shite!" Emma exclaimed. "_Ribon-Ribon No Grab_!"

The World Noble, however, dodged, although this action carried him to the window nearby, just as a small tremor rocked the castle.

Vivi gasped, and Georgia and Chopper shielded their eyes, as Emma stared in horror as the World Noble toppled through the window, and fell screaming, to his death below.

Emma was frozen in place, barely aware of anything that was happening around her, the face of that man engraved into her mind.

"Aah!" A voice shrieked, and they all (save for Emma) turned to see Princess Sylphy standing there, pointing an accusing finger at the only one that wasn't looking at her. "You-you _killed_ him! You killed Saint Jalmack!"

Jalmack?

Emma unfroze. "Let's get out of here, now!" She commanded, and almost everybody flinched at the change of tone in her voice.

Except for Law. As they pushed past Sylphy and ran for the entrance to the castle, Law kept pace with Emma and asked her: "Who was that man?"

"I swear, I didn't mean to kill him!" Emma gasped.

"I know." Law stopped briefly, and put a hand to the side of her face. "I just asked you if you knew him."

"Not personally." Emma admitted, noticing that Vivi was watching them with a serious expression on her face. "I just know he killed somebody close to one of our friends in the past."

"I see." Law nodded.

"Okay, now that Emma's been pardoned from killing some random, can we _please_ get moving?!" Georgia yelled, as they raced towards the entrance doors, which were flung wide open.

"I wouldn't do that!" Sylphy shrieked from the top of the staircase. "You filthy murders will get washed away in the flood!"

"_Flood_?!" Chopper and Georgia gasped.

"What flood?" Fox looked up at Sylphy.

"The flood to destroy all of you horrible pirates!" Sylphy replied.

"Umm…" Georgia, Fox, her teamsters, Carmilla and her fellow police-officers all began.

"Shut up!" Sylphy cried, just as a bunch of golden ribbons came flying towards her, and grabbed her. She shrieked, as Emma was suddenly right up in her face.

"_When is that flood going to hit_?!" Emma cried, slamming Sylphy up against the wall. "_Who planned it_?!"

"You…how _dare_ you touch me, you-!" Sylphy was cut off when Emma slapped her.

Tears of anger had filled Emma's eyes. "Some of my best friends are down there," she stated, her voice shaking, as Vivi began to climb the steps towards her. "As well as the man I love, and a whole bunch of your citizens! How can you, as a Princess, just stand by and watch innocent people _die_?!"

"Emma, forget it." Vivi said, firmly but calmly, as she took Emma by the shoulders, and the red-head allowed herself to be pulled back, detaching her ribbons from Goa's Princess. "It isn't worth it – right now, we've got to think of a plan."

Emma nodded, looking at Arabasta's Ex-Princess. "Okay…right. You're right. _Arigatoo_, Vivi-Chama." They walked back to the others, leaving Sylphy shaking on the floor.

"Does anybody have that map of Goa?" Emma wanted to know.

"Here." Law pulled the map out of Carue's saddle-bag.

They crowded around it.

"The most likely place that they're going to flood the kingdom with is from here." Law said, pointing to a spot on the map. "And, the most likely evacuation points are here, here, here, here, and here."

"Most likely, they'll be crawling with Marines." Vivi added.

"What about the eastern beach?" Emma asked, pointing to the area on the map with her right hand, and the ring that Law had given her glittered in the palace lights. "It's out of the way, but it might just be _too_ out of the way to be considered a proper evacuation beach."

"We'll run to there." Vivi nodded, standing up.

Emma stood up as well, and watched as Vivi unclipped her necklace.

"Good idea." Law told the blue-haired girl. "Emiko can transport herself to Foosha and let the others know what's happening. Vivi-Ya, you should go with her."

"No." Vivi said firmly, shaking her head.

"But, Princess, you'll be safer there." Carmilla told her.

"My duty is to help protect my friends." Vivi replied. "The true mark of a Princess is how far she is willing to go for her friends." She glanced at Emma, who nodded.

"Agreed." Emma looked around. "Okay, Law-Chan, you take Chopper, Carue and Vivi-Chama to the town square and get the others out of there. I'll take everybody else back to Dadan's, and then I'll continue on the Foosha."

Everybody nodded, except for Fox. "No, Emma," the director shook her head. "My crew and I are coming with you."

"Why?"

Fox had a steely glint in her eyes. "With the exception of my sister, I can't _stand_ the World Government. This is my opportunity to blackmail them for the rest of their lives."

* * *

Emma wasn't sure what she was expecting to find, when she arrived at Dadan's, but it wasn't what she found. "Zoro, Vista, what happened?!" She cried, seeing them sitting out the front, covered in wounds. _The great Vista? Cut down like this?_

"The Blackbeard Pirates were there, too." Zoro said simply.

Vista didn't say anything, but the look on his face was enough.

"Dammit." Emma muttered. "Okay, guys, stay here – there's going to be a flood, and I have to warn everybody." She was gone before Vista and Zoro could say anything, and so they turned wordlessly to Georgia, who shrugged.

* * *

Nami, Sanji, Luffy, Ace, Sumi, Franky, Brook and Usopp ran, as they heard the tell-tale signs of a flood happening behind them.

"Go, go, go!" Luffy shouted.

"What about Ino?!" Usopp wanted to know.

"Leave her." Ace and Sumi said in unison, as they ran.

Sumi didn't even look back, as they left the square but, somehow, she had a feeling that her Mother…that that _woman_, would survive.

The thought did not make her happy.

They ran through the virtually empty streets, wondering how they could have been so distracted with their battle that they hadn't even noticed the impending flood.

_Great, this is JUST like Aqua Laguna all over again!_ Nami thought, just as she tripped, and stumbled. "Ow!" She cried, clutching her ankle.

"Nami-Chan!" Sumi flew down beside her. "Come on, we have to go!"

"My ankle's twisted…" Nami muttered, through clenched teeth. _Great, what a time for me to realise that I'm not wearing the right shoes for this!_ "Go on without me!"

"Never!" Sumi declared, just as the sounds of running footsteps were heard, and Carue suddenly sprinted up, with Vivi on his back.

"She's right, now climb on!" Vivi held out her hand. "Hurry, the flood is almost upon us!"

Nami did as she was told, and soon she was clinging to Vivi's back, as Carue carried them towards the edge of the city, with Sumi flying along beside them.

"Where're the others?!" Nami wanted to know.

"Most have run ahead to the great gates!" Vivi replied, and then she drew Carue to a stop. "Oh, no!" A group of Marines were there, guns ready.

"_Out of our way_!" Sumi shouted. "_Tenshi No Gale_!" She whipped up a huge whirlwind with her wings, and used it to push the Marines away.

As they raced through, they could hear the sounds of the water getting closer. The roar of the torrent behind them. Even non-Devil Fruit users would be out of luck, if they were caught in _this_ flood.

"We're almost there!" Sumi yelled. "I can see the great gates…oh no!" She stopped suddenly, as did Carue, and the three girls and one duck stared in horror.

A battle was taking place at the great gates, between the Straw Hat Pirates, Ace and Law and…the three Admirals!

"Did they defeat _Oyaji_?" Sumi asked, at the same time as Vivi gasped: "They're all going to die here with us!"

"They don't care, as long as _we_ don't survive…" Nami realised slowly, her blood running cold.

There were streaks of ice, magma and light all throughout the area, mingled with rubber, fire and cherry blossom petals. It was impossible to tell who was winning, or who was injured.

Then, all of a sudden, the water pushed through the alleys behind the three girls and one duck, who could do nothing as it rushed towards them.

The men who were fighting suddenly realised what was happening.

"Vivi! Nami!" Luffy shouted.

"Sumi, get out of there!" Ace added, his eyes widening in horror. _So, this is how it ends…they'll win after all…_

"_Ribon-Ribon No…Transport!_"

Red and golden ribbons grabbed everybody in the area, and they all vanished in a flurry of silk just as the water crashed into the great gates.

* * *

The battle resumed as soon as they hit the sands, and Ace had barely enough time to grab Emma and yank her out of the way, as Kuzan's ice arced towards them. Ace's fire quickly melted it, but Kuzan was right there,

"Emiko, _go_!" Ace yelled, pushing her away, as he continued his battle with the icy Admiral.

Emma stumbled, as a beam of light hit her chest and, a second later, Borsalino was there. Emma only _just_ had enough time to raise her arms up in defence, but her whole entire body still ached as she was kicked brutally in the stomach, which sent her flying back into nearby rocks, and only by remembering her training from Garp was she able to flip herself upright.

As she did, she noticed that Fox was nearby, with her teamsters, filming the whole thing. Whether it was being broadcasted live or not, she didn't know because, just then, she sensed something, and only managed to dodge just in time, as the darkness flared up around her.

At the same instance, she heard, as if in a faraway dream, Zoro cry: "It's the Blackbeard Pirates!"

When had _he_ gotten here?

When Zoro started to get worried, it was a _real_ cause for concern.

"Hello again, girlie." Teach grinned his toothy grin at her, as he and his crew made their dramatic entrance. "Did you miss me?"

"About as much as I miss algebra!" Emma snapped, standing up quickly, and wiping the blood off of her chin. Her eyes darted around. She was remembering her last encounter with the traitorous pirate, and it was _definitely_ time for her to get out of here but, what could she do? Everybody else was busy fighting, except…

Sumi, who was circling above, suddenly spotted Teach and, with a cry like an angel of death, shot down towards him, faster than the normal eye could catch. She caught him under the chin with her elbow, just as he grabbed her ankle and slammed her up against a nearby rock.

"_Don't_ think that I forgot about _you_, feathered-brat!" Teach told her, just as a set of ribbons went slicing through his shoulder. He dropped Sumi, but immediately activated his Devil Fruit powers, and drew Emma in using the force of gravity against her. "And _you_, little _Princess_…"

"What are you _talking_ about?" She asked him, just as something fast and on fire suddenly hit him. Though the flames did nothing, the force of the hit was enough to make him drop Emma.

Ace grabbed her, dragging her back, and placing her behind him. "Go!" he whispered fiercely to her. "Quickly!"

"I can't-"

"_GO_!" Ace yelled, and Emma went, grabbing Sumi's hand and running across the sands with her. They dodged the huge craters from the battle, trying to see in the dark, although the various attacks provided sufficient light at times.

And, it was through this light, that they saw Sakazuki neatly break possibly all of Luffy's ribs with a very vicious attack – the cracks could be heard even above the sounds of the ferocious battle going on all around them – before tossing the boy's limp body aside.

The reason for this soon became clear, as Luffy had been attempting to stop Sakazuki from going after Vivi, who was now completely out in the open, and frozen as the Admiral came at her, looking like the hellhound that he was, covered in magma and ready to destroy her.

"You're mine, _Hikari No Hime_!" He shouted.

Emma was vaguely aware of people screaming out Luffy's name, and caught a flash of somebody with orange hair throwing herself across him, to protect him from a wave of ice that hit her on the back, making her scream.

Everything seemed to have gone still, as she mimicked Nami's movements, grabbing onto Vivi and knowing that, even if she died, then at least the Princess would still be alive. They _needed_ her powers, to save the worlds!

_Dammit!_ "Emma, no!" Vivi cried out, at the same time as somebody else did.

Emma closed her eyes, and prepared for the impact, but she felt nothing. Confused, and slightly bewildered, she opened her eyes, and saw the look of horror on Vivi's face. Fearing the worst, Emma turned, and her heart seemed to stop.

In front of her, with her back to her, was Sumi.

Sakazuki's magma fist had gone straight through the blonde-haired girl's stomach, staining her back and her wings incarnadine.

Time seemed to freeze around them all, as Sumi twitched slightly, and then she reached up, and put one shaking hand onto her Father's wrist. "It doesn't end here, Father." Blood was flowing from her mouth.

Sakazuki jerked his hand back, stepping back – and, suddenly, he was hit by Ace, who had come flying out of nowhere.

"AKAINU!"

There was rage and fury burning in Ace's eyes and fists, as he and Sakazuki disappeared into the battle again.

Sumi, meanwhile, had staggered back, and fell back, into Emma's arms.

Emma's heart thudded in her chest, and she couldn't speak, but Vivi did.

"Sumi!" She cried, crawling over to them. "Sumi!"

Sumi struggled to open her eyes, and looked not at Vivi, but at Emma. "Emma…-Chan…you…can't…die…"

Emma's jaw unlocked. "Well, neither can you!" she cried desperately, alarmed by all of the blood around them. "Sumi-Chan, we'll get a doctor, and…"

"I _am_ a doctor, Emma-Chan." Sumi reminded her, trying to chuckle, but she coughed instead, and more blood came out of her mouth. "I know that…nothing can…save me now…" Her hand hovered to the spot above her stomach, where there was a smouldering and bloody hole. It was a hundred times worse than the anime and the manga combined.

"Sumi-Chan, _please_ don't die!" Emma begged her, finding that her eyes were, surprisingly, dry, but her heart was pounding in her chest. "You _can't_, I…I just killed your former captor! Jalmack! He's dead!"

Sumi _did_ smile then, even though her lips were covered in blood. "That's…good…it's...okay that you...did that..." She said, before looking over at Vivi. "I didn't hate you, Vivi-Chan…I just…didn't like that they were using a _real_ Princess…as the decoy Princess…"

Vivi nodded silently, tears running down her face.

Emma, whose eyes were dry, stared at Sumi in shock. "What do you…?"

"Vivi-Chan's…a decoy…" Sumi said, and Emma happened to glance up then, across the beach, at Teach, who was listening.

She knew then that he could hear everything that was going on.

"Then, who's…?"

"It's you…" Sumi whispered, her eyes closing, but she struggled one last time, and her teal orbs locked with Emma's hazel ones. "You're the Princess, and you're also...Emma…Newgate."

Vivi gasped softly, not at Sumi's words, but because the blonde-haired girl was suddenly gone, disappearing into a swirling mass of multi-coloured light, which swirled around Emma's neck and head.

Emma, who was gasping, was staring at the spot where Sumi had just been, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Sumi was dead. Sumi, who had been cheerful and sweet…Sumi, who called everybody –Chan…she was _dead_…she would never smile again…she would never laugh with them again…she would never _be_ anything again, because…

She was dead.

But, more importantly...she'd said that Emma was the _real_ Princess Of Light. Not Vivi. But...why?

And, she was also Edward Newgate's daughter?! But...how?!

Nothing made sense anymore...not that it ever had before.

Emma was gasping, not noticing the multi-coloured light. "_Iie_…" She whispered, her heart hammering in her chest now. More emotions than ever before whirled up inside of her, coupled with a very strange sensation. "_Iie_…_IIEEEEEE_!" She screamed, raising her head to the heavens, as light erupted around her, causing everybody to stop.

Nobody could believe what was happening to Emma.

As they watched, the compass around her neck cracked, and more light poured out of it.

Her body shook with tearless sobs, as she cried out, not noticing that her clothes were changing…they became a soft gold-coloured dress, stained with red…ribbons whirled around her, forming the folds of the dress…and, at last, the light formed a golden and ruby tiara upon her head.

"Sumi-Chan! _Sumi-Chan_!"

All eyes were on Emma, who was hunched over, a pair of wings on her back, and looking both beautiful and devastated. It was then that they realised the tragedy that had just unfolded, and the Straw Hat Pirates realised that Sumi was dead.

But, also, they realised...

Vivi seemed to come to life just then. "_Minna_!" She shouted. "_Protect Emma – she's the true Princess Of Light_! PROTECT HER!" Her words rang out across the beach.

The Straw Hat Pirates just stared at her, as their battle with Kuzan and Borsalino came to a stop. Even the Blackbeard Pirates were staring at Vivi, who was breathing heavily, like an injured animal. She clutched a deep cut on her shoulder, and staggered to her feet, looking around at them. She assessed all of their injuries...before her eyes fell on Luffy, who was unconscious.

Vivi's heart clenched.

"Are you getting this?" Fox whispered to her crew.

They nodded.

"Is it being beamed live around the world?"

Again, they nodded.

"Good."

Law was suddenly there, and that was when they noticed that he looked different, as well. He was wearing all-black, and there were gold buckles on his jacket. "I'll do it." Law said, in a cold but calm voice, using just one arm to yank Emma to her feet. She leaned against his arm - she didn't seem capable of standing up by herself

Vivi could only stare at him, and it was then that she remembered what the gods had told her.

Trafalgar Law was the First Knight.

Vivi nodded silently, and then she turned her head, as a wave of heat exploded from the battle between Sakazuki and Ace, the latter who was pushed back, blood streaming from a wound on his forehead.

Emma snapped out whatever trance she'd just been in. "No!" She cried, still shaking with tearless sobs, but her voice was far more melodic than it had ever been before. "No! I...I can't let anybody else die! No…_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

She swept up all of her Allies, including Fox and her crew, into a flurry of ribbons and, the next thing that they knew, they were on the Moby Dick.

* * *

Destiny reeled back, clutching the sides of the stone table, where her tablets were set up. She bowed her head, listening to the sounds of the Princess' screaming in her own mind, as Fate, from behind her, was, for another rare moment, not smiling.

"She wasn't supposed to find out yet..." Destiny whispered. "She's not strong enough to take on Infinity..."

"That doesn't matter." Fate replied. "This is what has happened, and now we have to deal with it. Besides..." She turned her head to the grey skies, where a black vortex had appeared recently. It was swirling with grey matter, and it was known as the Pit Of Chaos.

Destiny followed Fate's gaze, and then nodded. "I know." She sighed. "She doesn't _have_ the time to get stronger...everyday, more and more worlds are being erased by Infinity. It's only a matter of time before everything is gone."

Karma, who was listening, nodded in agreement. "That is why Life and Death chose to share that information about Emma's past with her Allies, hoping to strengthen their bonds. Don't worry...if Grace says they'll help her get through this, then they will."

"I don't think so..." Destiny laid a hand on one of her tablets. "This could be what destroys her..."

"She's really going to fall apart?" Karma questioned.

Destiny nodded. "Yes...this was her first time...watching a friend die. And, in such a brutal way...there's only one way she'll be dragged out of this..."

* * *

"Ace!" His brothers cried, alarmed by the condition of him and the others. "What happened?!"

Ace seemed to be in shock, and couldn't move or speak. His face was pale, and he was frozen in place, staring at absolutely nothing.

Nami, meanwhile, was sobbing over Luffy, and the nurses suddenly swooped on him.

"His rib-cage!"

"Get him to the infirmary!"

"This is horrible!"

"Hurry!"

As they rushed him below deck, one of the nurses added: "He'll need a transfusion!"

"We don't have enough type F!"

Vivi gasped. "My blood's type F!" She called, and one of the nurses grabbed her by the wrist.

"Come on, then!"

Whitebeard calmly surveyed the damage done to the Straw Hat Pirates.

Robin was sporting a number of cuts and bruises, mainly to her face and arms. nami's ankle was sprained (possibly broken) and she had a cut on her lip. Chopper and Usopp seemed, for the most part, uninjured, save for a few scrapes. Sanji and Zoro were both bleeding heavily from their shoulders, and both of them had blood on their faces. Franky was bleeding from the torso. Nobody could tell if Brook was injured or not, but he seemed alright.

What worried Whitebeard the most was Ace. His son still hadn't moved or done anything.

Where was Emma?

Whitebeard looked around, and then he saw her, wearing a blood-stained dress and sporting a pair of wings that made Whitebeard instantly think of Sumi.

Law was holding onto Emma, who was still screaming.

"No, it didn't happen!" She shouted, and everybody turned to her. "Law-Chan, tell me it didn't happen!"

Law couldn't say anything, so he just held onto her.

In the confusion, they hadn't noticed but…wasn't somebody missing?

Whitebeard stepped forwards. "Where is Sumi?" He asked them.

Emma turned to him, her face white as snow. Tears finally came from her eyes, mixing with the blood, as she stared up at the man labelled the strongest in the world. She tried to speak, but suddenly found that she couldn't.

Robin stepped forwards then, picking up the tiara that had fallen from Emma's head. Everybody immediately looked at her.

"Sumi's life was taken by Admiral Akainu." Robin said stoically, and many of the Whitebeard Pirates gasped.

Their sister...their fun-loving, sweet-natured and bright little sister, who had been the youngest member of their crew, was...dead?

A few of the female Whitebeard Pirates had tears running down their faces, but all eyes were suddenly on Emma, who had taken a shaky step forwards, away from Law, who let her go.

"S-Sumi-Chan..." Emma said, in a voice barely above a whisper, and it sounded like the words were trying to strangle her. "Sh-she said...I'm the...P-Princess Of Light, b-but...I couldn't...save her...sh-she saved _me_..." Tears dripped onto the deck by her bare feet, and blood splashed amongst it. "She...she also told me...that I'm...she told me...whose daughter I am." She looked right at Whitebeard. "Did you know?"

"Yes." Was all that Whitebeard could say. What more could he say?

Grace had told him how and and why, but telling Emma all of this would be pointless now.

Everybody, meanwhile, stared at Whitebeard, trying to figure out what he'd just said.

Marco decided to elaborate, to save everybody from the confusion. "Emma's real name is Emma Newgate. She's _Oyaji's_ long-lost daughter." Marco swallowed, as a few people gasped at this shocking revelation. "For so long...he's been waiting...to meet her again..."

With a choked sob, Emma launched herself at the strongest man in the world, and he caught her, holding her against his chest, as she started sobbing.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I couldn't save her! I wasn't strong enough! I'm sorry, Daddy!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**

**. Sumi-Chan! *Cries***

**. Starless Night, by Nana Mikazuki - www . youtube watch ? v = 4NS1 _ QD4hB0**

* * *

_Cocoa Liddell - don't worry, Emma figured it all out. ^^ She got decisive! However, Law's feelings now have a reason. Thanks for reviewing!  
_

_AiSoraix3 - I also love Vivi, I think she's awesome! (Actually, so are Robin, and Nami!). Thanks for reviewing!_

_MsWildLuck - oh no, but my readers are WORSE than Hancock whom, might I add, is going to throw a FIT when she finds out about Luffy's ribs..._

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - yeah, that doll is just evil. XD I have that doll, so I should know. But, yes, Hancock's vision is very limited._

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - OMG, it's addictive, and more so than the show?! Are you SURE about that?! Thank you! XD Augh, chainsaw! *Runs* Hmm...don't forget Captain Kuro, wearing a mankini, and twirling a hula hoop whilst Blueno (in a clown-suit) plays unfitting music! XD  
_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - hmm, VivixLuffy...yup! XD Oh noes, Bon Clay, no! That's just WRONG! *Dies* Well, good luck surviving THAT one, peoples! :D_


	28. Recovery

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Parental Warning - the following chapter contains:**

**. Adult themes**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Recovery

* * *

The sun still rose. The moon (once it had started waxing again) still set. Fluffy clouds still danced across the day skies, and occasionally the nights were still dark and stormy. Lovers were still silhouetted against a backdrop of stars, and the burning fires of dawn still graced the morning bright.

But, none of that mattered to that one girl anymore because, to her, the world had fallen apart, and so had she.

Emma was an emotional wreck, and it seemed that no amount of help from her friends would be enough to pull her out of this. She could hardly speak without breaking down into tears, which most of the men on board the Moby Dick couldn't seem to handle. She couldn't eat much, because she was getting sick from her hysterics. Law watched as she got sicker and sicker and, finally, on the third day, he instructed for her to be put into an induced coma.

Finally, with her eyes closed, an oxygen mask over her face, and IV drips in her arms, she was at peace.

Law sat down at her bedside, resting his elbow on his knee, and his forehead on the tips of his fingers, sighed.

"You okay?" A voice asked from behind him, and he turned to see Nami standing there, smiling slightly in a sympathetic way.

Law shrugged - what more could he do? He wasn't, and she knew it.

She pulled a chair up to sit beside him. Together, they gazed at Emma, who was still pale.

"I never imagined..." Nami said quietly. "That any of this would happen...that she could be the Princess..." She reached out, and took Emma's left hand. It was cold, and the ring around her fourth finger was like ice.

"i heard Marco-Ya telling Vista-Ya that Vivi-Ya was selected as a decoy, by the gods." Law muttered, never taking his eyes off of Emma's face. "She was meant to remain as a decoy for a bit longer, to draw the enemy's attention away and give Emiko more time to train. But now..."

"What a terrible way, for her to find out." Nami murmured, shaking her head slightly. "And, that you're..." She turned her steady gaze over to Law, who glanced briefly at her. "Is that why...?"

He nodded. "When she was wrapped up by that light, I received visions from the gods. They told me what I had known all along."

"Which was?"

Law's expression hardened slightly. "That my duty...that my entire _reason_ for existing...is to protect _Hikari No Hime_...to protect Emiko, no matter what." He put his head in his hand. "But now, I can't do anything. She's the only one who can save herself." _If she can, at all...she's so weak right now, because her body can't handle the amount of stress and power that's been so suddenly placed on it..._

Nami stared at him for a moment, before putting an arm across his shoulders. "She _will_ get out of this, you'll see. Emma's _very_ strong, and she knows that we're all here for her. Just have faith in her..."

Law glanced sideways at her. "It's strange that _you're_ comforting _me_, Nami-Ya..."

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, you're the doctor - you should know that people tend to band together in a crisis." Then, she gasped, and Law's head snapped up, to see Emma's red necklace was glowing. "What is...?"

Law stared, the red light reflected off of his grey eyes, his expression hard, as he whispered: "Emiko..."

* * *

In the infirmary, Vivi sat by Luffy's bedside, and Robin sat on the other side.

Neither of the two females spoke, until Luffy shifted slightly, and Robin observed that Vivi nearly jumped out of her seat. The former Princess was holding onto one of the captain's hands so tightly that Robin briefly speculated that she might end up breaking it. Not that it would make much of a difference - Luffy's ribs had been badly broken, and there was now a cross-shaped cut, choc-full of stitches, on his chest. Between the bleeding and the bruising, Luffy looked a wreck, and Vivi appeared to be handling it badly.

"Many times," Robin said quietly, and the young girl's dark eyes flickered over to her. Robin could see the amount of pain and fear in those dark orbs. "I've wondered if Luffy-San's luck will run out. If he'll be electrocuted by a god, or torn to shreds by a vicious assassin. I've wondered, but I've never questioned, because I know that, somehow, he'll pull through. If there was one thing that I learned that day on the Tower Of Justice, then it was that."

"At...at Enies Lobby..." Vivi's voice was cracked, since she hadn't really eaten or drunk anything in three days. "The Straw Hat Pirates declared war on the World Government."

Robin nodded. "That is correct."

"Why?" Vivi suddenly realised that she had never found out the true meaning behind Luffy's decisions that day.

Robin clasped her hands in front of her, and Vivi sensed that a story was about to be told. Wanting desperately to understand her former-enemy, Vivi leaned back in her chair to listen.

"I was born on the island of Ohara, and my entire family were archeologists - that is, both of my parents were. My Mother's brother and his wife were not, but it was in their care that I was left when I was two, when my Mother went out to sea. I was not loved by my Aunt, and the other children would call me a demon, due to my Devil Fruit powers. However, I had friends - the scholars at the Tree Of Knowledge. Desperate to fit in somewhere, I aspired to be like them and, at the age of eight, I was finally inducted as a scholar after acing an archeology exam. My mentor, Professor Clover, me not to learn the true, unrecorded history of the world, though - I know now why he told me this but, at the time, I was very upset. At that time, I met a giant named Jaguar D. Saul, and I continued to visit him for four days. On the fourth day, he told me that Ohara was the target of a Buster Call, in which ten war ships would be sent to destroy Ohara due to the scholars there studying the Poneglyph. During this time, when the assassins of CP9 came to Ohara, I was reunited with my Mother after six years of wondering who she was. She recognized me instantly and, for my own safety, tried to pretend otherwise, but I knew that it was her. As Professor Clover was shot and killed point-blank, and CP9 left to continue destroying the island, Saul arrived. He was a former Vice-Admiral who had assisted with my Mother's escape, and she urged him to protect me. However, as he was carrying me to safety, they opened fire on him, and he destroyed the ships for almost hurting me. I tried to board the evacuation ship but, when I used my powers, this frightened those on board. They were killed by Akainu, who destroyed the ship in case even _one_ scholar was onboard. Saul tried to attack Spandine, who had initiated the attack) but he was stopped and challenged by Aokiji, who froze him to death. Before Saul died, he urged me to go out to sea, saying that my friends were out there, somewhere. Aokiji let me go, even setting an ice path for me to follow, but warned me that if I tried anything, then he would be the first to come after me. The World Government was worried after that, due to my ability to read the Poneglyphs, and they issued a bounty on my head after that, and I spent twenty years living for self-preservation alone. My only dream was to find the Poneglyphs, and learn the true history of the world, which the World Government so desperately sought to keep hidden, enough that they committed the most brutal act of genocide."

Vivi stared at Robin in complete and utter shock, unable to believe the story that she was told but, somehow, she knew that it was true. Perhaps it was something in those endless blue eyes, that told her that it was genuine, or perhaps it was what the archeologist said next.

"After Luffy-San defeated Crocodile," Robin spoke the name with a slight bitterness. "I lost my will to live, and told Luffy-San that he should take responsibility. So, I joined the Straw Hat Pirates. This led me to discover that the Rio Poneglyphs that I sought were on Raftel, where the One Piece is. As time went on, I realised how genuine Luffy-San and the others were - they asked nothing of me, and allowed me to live as I pleased."

"What happened next?" Vivi whispered, anticipating a change in the story.

"Upon arriving in Water Seven, I was found by the new CP9 assassins and, in order to keep Luffy-San and the others safe, I was forced to help them try and assassin the man who held the blueprints for an ancient weapon. The World Government wished to build and then use that weapon against the original one, but human nature isn't that simple, as you and I both know." Vivi nodded. "But, I thought, as long as Luffy-San and the others were safe, then I didn't care what happened. As long as they survived...but, they came after me, and declared war on the world, just for my safety and freedom. I didn't understand it then...I do now."

Vivi had not expected this. She stared down at her hands. "I...I see..." Carue, who had been napping in the corner of the room, came over and placed his head in her lap, gazing sympathetically up at her. "I...I can understand...this faith that you have in Luffy and the others...they, too, helped me to overcome myself, and the darkness of the situation that I was in." She rubbed her hand against Carue's bill.

"My reasons for joining forces with Crocodile were merely for my own personal gain," Robin informed her. "To find the Poneglyphs, and help change the world. Now, however, my scope of preservation has extended to include my Nakama..."

Vivi nodded. "I see..." She looked across at Robin. "Thank you, for telling me all of this...I know how hard it must have been."

Robin nodded slightly, looking calm. "I told you this so that you may understand another thing, Princess-San."

"But, I'm not..."

"You may not be _Hikari No Hime_," Robin interrupted her. "And, you may believe that your ties with Arabasta are cut off forever. Ohara is destroyed, and its people reduced to nothing but ashes. but that does not mean that it did not exist. And, in my memory, it will never die. The same goes for you. Arabasta will _always_ be your heritage, and you will _always_ be its Princess." She gazed steadily at Vivi. "But, if I may be so bold as to question, was there perhaps another feeling that helped you to make this decision?"

Vivi blushed, and glanced at Luffy, confirming Robin's suspicions. "Well..."

The doors to the infirmary burst open, startling Carue and making Vivi jump. Only Robin remained calm, as Boa Hancock hurried into the room, followed more slowly by her sisters and, lastly, a very annoyed-looking Chopper.

"He needs his rest!" The little reindeer said angrily.

"Shut up, tanuki!"

Chopper nearly tore his antlers out, as Hancock hurried over to Luffy's bedside. Her eyes instantly zeroed in on the fact that Vivi was holding Luffy's hand in her own. She glared at Vivi.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Hancock asked scornfully.

Robin spoke up. "We might ask you the same thing." She said calmly, although her eyes were intent on Vivi and Hancock.

"I _happen_ to be Luffy's fiancee." Hancock said, in a self-important way. She crossed her arms, and stared Vivi down.

Vivi shifted. "Well I...I'm his...Nakama." She said uncomfortably.

"Nakama? Don't make me laugh - you chose your country over him, right up until he became interesting, and you were suddenly all over him!"

Vivi swallowed. "That-that's not true...I've _always_ found him interesting..." She gazed fondly at the raven-haired boy. "But, it's true, I only severed my ties with Arabasta when Luffy needed me...I mean, when...the crew, needed me." She finished lamely.

Hancock just smirked, and Luffy chose that moment to stir. "Oh, Luffy!" Tears gleamed in Hancock's eyes, as she knelt by his bedside, and pointedly took his other hand. "I'm here, my darling..." She held the hand up to the side of her face. "Don't worry, Luffy, I'm here..."

Luffy's eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. He sat up slowly, and looked around dazedly. His eyes first travelled to his hat, which was on his bedside table, and he nodded slowly, before he turned to the person sitting on his right.

"Vivi...you're okay..." He said slowly, blinking a few times, and then he flung his arms around her. "Thank God, Vivi!"

"L-Luffy?!"

"When I saw that bastard heading for you, and then...I thought...thank God you're still alive!" Luffy exclaimed, still with his arms wrapped around her. "I was really worried about you." He whispered in her ear.

Vivi swallowed, and looked across at Robin, who was smiling slightly.

She then looked over at Hancock, and flinched. The Boa sister was glaring daggers at her, and looking as scary as any Gorgon or Naga in mythology.

Luffy felt Vivi flinch, and slowly let go of her, before turning around and seeing Hancock. "Oh. You're here too." He turned back to Vivi. "What about the others, are they okay?" Vivi and Robin exchanged a glance. "What is it?" Luffy asked, sensing that something was terribly wrong.

"The battle ended not long after you passed out." Robin explained. "Nami shielded you with her body during this period."

"Aww, Nami's the best." Luffy grinned, as Hancock looked positively shocked. "How's her ankle?"

"It'll mend." Vivi said quietly. "Most of the crew got out okay, with a few mild cuts and bruises. Oh, and I'm not the real Princess Of Light - Emma is."

"Oh." Luffy looked surprised. "That's...weird. You're much more suited, Vivi."

Vivi blushed furiously. "Thanks, I think...anyway, so most of us are okay, but Emma's in an induced-coma."

"A what?"

"It means she's been put into a deep sleep with medicine." Chopper supplied.

"How come?" Luffy wanted to know.

"After the battle, she went into a state of hysterics and shocks." Robin told him.

"Because she's the Princess?"

Vivi looked right at him. "Because Sumi's dead."

* * *

Zoro and Vista were meditating, when Sanji and Marco found them up on-deck.

"Yoi." Marco said, by way of greeting. He seated himself on a spot on the deck. "Mind if we join you?"

"Go ahead." Zoro shrugged. "It's a free deck." He watched as Sanji settled himself down nearby, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag.

For awhile, none of the four men spoke, until Zoro glanced up, and happened to see Ace walk aimlessly past.

"He's not handling it well." The swordsman stated, when Ace was out of earshot.

"You can say that again." Marco sighed. "He's handling it about as well as Emma is."

"It's ridiculous." Zoro said bluntly, causing Marco and Vista to exchange a glance. "I mean, Emma's supposed to be _Hikari No Hime_. What kind of Princess goes into hyperspace right when we need her the most?"

"Give them a break, moss-head." Sanji muttered, glaring at Zoro. "Somebody they really cared about was killed right before their eyes. Is that so really very hard to understand, even for _you_?"

"I understand." Zoro said, surprising the cook, who blinked. "I understand better than you _think_,, ero-cook."

"Oh yeah?" Sanji looked up at the sky, and recalled the girl from Shimotsuki Village, Kuina. He took a drag from his cigarette, and then let it out slowly. "I see..."

"Death is just a part of life." Zoro stated, staring at a spot on the deck. "If you let every single little death consume you, then you'll never get out of the pit. Sumi wouldn't have wanted any of this."

"You're right." Vista nodded. "Sumi loved her life, and she loved the lives of those around her. All she ever wanted was for everybody else to be happy."

"And, in the end, her devotion to her family is what got her killed." Sanji realised. "Knowing how Whitebeard feels about his family...she was protecting his greatest treasure."

"You got it." Marco affirmed. "What I hope she realised...was that she was as much as his treasure, as any of our crew. We're going to miss her."

Sanji and Zoro could only nod, understanding how hard this must be for the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Ace promised..." Vista said quietly. "To always protect Sumi...for him, this is a failure that he can't ever rise up from. He feels like he broke a promise to Thatch."

"That's insane." Zoro shook his head. "There's nothing that he could've done - it all happened so fast."

"He won't see it like that." Marco replied.

"I know that." Zoro muttered. "I'm also pretty sure that, if anything happens to Emma now..." He trailed off, and let the comment sink in.

Up in the crows nest Ace, who was listening, clenched his fists, which burned slightly into the wood he was hanging onto. He stared at Dawn Island (they were moored off a different coast, after having moved a few days ago) in the distance. It had been the death-place of both Sabo and Sumi. Ace closed his eyes, feeling tears gather._  
_

_I'm sorry._

* * *

"So, when do you think we can go home?" Penelope spoke up tentatively, hoping that nobody would berate her for asking such a question at a time like this.

Nobody did, however, but nobody answered her, either. She, Carmilla, Robert, Jacob, Georgia, Franky, Kaya and Nojiko were sitting in the dining hall, sort of picking at their dinners. They weren't very hungry.

Usopp entered, and sat down next to Kaya, who looked at him questioningly when he sighed.

"We've had Marines coming in periodically since yesterday." The sniper explained, resting his head on his hand. "The Whitebeard Pirates are taking care of them, but it's not easy - they got injured too, after all."

"Man, we could _really_ use some of Emma's power right now. Too bad she's a basket-case." Georgia stated, and Nojiko glared at her.

"Emma's got _enough_ to worry about, without having to deal with _them_." The blue-haired woman snapped. "Who are _you_ to judge her?"

"In case you've forgotten," Georgia said defensively. "Emma sent my sister to this world, leaving _me_ worrying like crazy in that _other_ world - I know what it's like to lose somebody that you love! I thought that Carmilla was dead!"

"Yes, but you didn't actually _see_ it happening." Nojiko pointed out. "To see a person that you love get killed, in the most brutal way possible, and without warning..."

Georgia took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. Carmilla was looking at her, knowing what was coming. "Do you know...why my sister is a police officer?" Georgia asked, and Nojiko shook her head. "It's because her boyfriend was one. He was killed, in the line of duty. Took a bullet, straight to the head. I was fifteen, at the time, when I...saw that..." She looked right at Nojiko. "I know how old you and Nami were when you saw Bellemere die in the same way. I _know_ what it means to see somebody die, protecting you!"

Nojiko didn't say anything, but Kaya did.

The blonde said: "So then, we can all agree that Sumi died for us?" The others glanced at her, and then nodded. She stood up. "Then, what's being done about her funeral?"

Franky shrugged. "I dunno. I guess you'll have to ask Whitebeard about it."

Kaya nodded firmly. "Then I will." She turned, and marched out of the dining hall.

Everybody stared after her.

"Ok-kay, wh-where's the real Kaya?" Usopp stammered.

"I _am_ the real Kaya!"

* * *

In Party's Bar, Makino didn't realise that she'd finished cleaning the glass that she was still holding five minutes ago, until Benn pointed it out to her.

"Oh, thank you." She put the glass away.

"Don't mention it." Benn returned to his meal.

Makino sighed, and rested her head in her hands.

"You're still thinking about what happened, aren't you?" Benn observed calmly.

Makino nodded. "I...I can't imagine what Luffy and Ace must be going through right now...going through such a terrible battle, only to see one of their friends get killed like that." She, like everybody else in the world, was still reeling from the shock of the battle that had been broadcasted live throughout the world. It had been gruesome, and bloody, and to see the death of such a young girl at the hands of Admiral Sakazuki had shocked people. "Poor Sumi..."

"It's not Sumi that you should be worrying about." Yasopp pointed out. "It's those that she left behind."

"I know." Makino closed her eyes briefly, unable to believe that the sweet and friendly young girl that she had met just a few short days ago was now dead. "This life...what if it's too much for them?"

"Then, that's their choice to make." Said a new voice, and everybody turned, to see that Shanks had emerged from the stairwell. He, like the rest of his crew and the Whitebeard Pirates, had suffered only minor injuries - it was the younger generations that had fared the worst. "Luffy learned long ago what it means to be a pirate. It's dangerous and, sometimes, you lose the people you love."

"Yes, but why did it have to happen here?" Makino asked the rhetorical question. "First Sabo, and now Sumi..."

"Sabo?" Shanks repeated the name.

"He was a friend of Luffy and Ace." Makino explained. "Come with me." She led Shanks outside, and they began to walk away from the village. Everywhere the went, people were busy repairing the buildings that had been damaged by the battle. They walked along the path that led to the midway forest and, about halfway there, Makino veered off, and Shanks followed her, along a small trail that could barely be made out under the grass. But, Shanks could see, there were sets of well-worn foot-prints leading along the trail, which Makino followed until she reached a small shrine, at the base of an old, abandoned windmill.

The shrine was small, and made of wood, and the workmanship wasn't great, but Shanks could tell immediately that it had been made with as much care as possible. He watched as Makino opened the doors to the shrine, and took out a framed photograph, which she blew the dust away from before handing it to Shanks.

Shanks could immediately recognize a seven year old Luffy in the picture, and there was no mistaking the freckled face of his adoptive brother, Ace. In the photograph with them was a boy about Ace's age, with curly blonde hair. That must be Sabo.

"The three of them were inseparable, and did almost everything together." Makino explained, a fond look on her face. "I heard Luffy saying that they became sworn brothers over cups of sake. Luffy and Ace put up other shrines like this, all over the island, because..." She trailed off, a look of grief passing across her face for a moment.

"What happened?" Shanks asked, although he already knew.

"One day, a Celestial Dragon named Jalmack decided to _grace_ Goa with his presence." Makino said, almost sarcastically (well, as sarcastic as Makino could _get_).

"Jalmack?" Shanks repeated. "Hang on, isn't that the...?"

"The Celestial Dragon that they say Emma killed." Makino affirmed. "I don't know if this is true or not, but the Government seems to think so. And, when you look at the fact that he shot down and killed Sabo in cold blood, then..." She shrugged. "At the time, when Sabo died, I heard Ace say to Luffy that, not only was he not going to die, but he was also never going to let anything like this happen to somebody he cared about, ever again. Ace's devotion to his friends and family is absolute, Shanks, you have to understand that." Makino had turned away, so Shanks didn't see the tears in her eyes, but he could hear them.

Returning the picture to its place and closing the doors to the shrine. Shanks placed his arm across Makino's shoulders, and thought: _Ace...he's more like his Father than he realises..._

* * *

_I don't know who I am anymore...I don't know what I am...where do I come from? Who are my parents? What is my purpose?_

_What AM I?_

* * *

Emma opened her eyes slowly, to find herself staring up at the blue sky. She was lying on her back, in the grass. She was wearing all white - a halter top with a white skirt - and she could feel the wings on her back. Blinking a few times, Emma tried to figure out where she was, and could only draw one conclusion.

"I'm dead." She decided, feeling oddly calm about that fact.

"No you're not!" A bright voice piped up, and a winged girl wearing a white, off-the shoulder dress sprang into Emma's line of vision. Though she was silhouetted against the brightness of the blue sky, there was no mistaking the teal of her eyes, or the way her light blonde braided pigtails swung.

"Aah!" Emma cried. "Yes I am!"

"No, I'm telling you, you're _not_ dead, Emma-Chan!" Sumi grinned, and grabbed Emma's wrist, yanking her to her feet.

Emma stared at her for a second, before throwing her arms around Sumi, hugging her tightly, and Sumi hugged her back. "Then, how is this...?" She drew back, staring at Sumi's face, as if trying to read all of the answers. "How is...?"

"I dunno." Sumi shrugged, still smiling. She looked around her, and so did Emma.

"What _is_ this place?" Emma asked her.

"You tell me." Sumi replied. "This is your gig, girlfriend."

"So, wait, then this is all just happening within my mind?" Emma guessed.

"Well, yes, and no." Sumi answered. "You see, when I died, I transferred some of my power into you. But, I assure you, that this is actually happening." She pinched Emma, making Emma jump from the sting. "See?" She noticed the tears in Emma's eyes. "Emma-Chan, what's wrong?"

"You _died_, Sumi-Chan, and it's all my fault!" Emma exclaimed.

"Oh boy." Sumi took Emma by the hand, and led her over to a nearby swing-set, atop a small hill.

As they sat down on the swings, Emma took a good look around her, and realised that they were in a playground of sorts. Something about it was familiar...the swings...the play equipment in the sand...the small forest...the little dried-up creek...

"Hang on, Sumi-Chan...I think that I know where we are..." Emma sniffled. "This looks like the playground that Krystal and I used to come to, all the time when I lived across the lake from her."

Sumi began to swing on her swing. "Oh, is that where we are? Sounds cool. So, you and Krystal-Chan knew each other for a long time, right?"

Emma nodded. "Since we were five...Sumi-Chan?"

"Yeah?"

"How can I be Edward Newgate's daughter?" Emma wanted to know, finally asking the all-important question. "What about my other parents?"

"Ah." Sumi smiled. "I was wondering when we'd get to that. Firstly, let me just say, that everything's going to make sense after this, but you _have_ to be open-minded about it. Even _I_ had a hard time believing in it and, well, let's face it - you're about as insecure as they come, Emma-Chan."

"Oh, thanks a lot."

"No, I mean it." Sumi shook her head, and then she began to swing higher. "You don't believe in yourself, and you have a hard time trusting in others. Even now, you're thinking that the gods made a huge mistake, in choosing you as the Princess."

"You got that right." Emma affirmed. "I mean, I can barely handle being Emma, and now I'm supposed to be some all-powerful Princess? I can't _do_ this, Sumi-Chan!"

"Yes you can." Sumi said firmly. "And you _will_. It's been your destiny, ever since you were one year old. That's when your life became what it is today, Emma-Chan."

"How so?" Emma wanted to know.

Sumi reached out. "Take my hand." Emma did so, and then gasped, as Sumi launched herself off of the swing, dragging Emma with her, and they hovered there in mid-air, their wings beating in synch. "I'll take you back to the year 1991, when you turned one year old, Emma-Chan. And, remember - open mind."

"Yes, Mum." Emma rolled her eyes, as she and Sumi disappeared into a swirl of blue and white light.

* * *

When Emma opened her eyes again, she and Sumi were standing in a pink room, that Emma instantly recognized as her old room, back in her first house. As they watched, Lee carried one-year-old Emma into the room, and placed her in her cot. She turned the lights off and pulled the door to, stepping outside again.

In the dimness of the room, Sumi reached for Emma's hand, and gave it a squeeze and, a few minutes later, Emma was clinging to Sumi's hand, as they watched one-year-old Emma's seizure.

Lee returned to the room, her Mother's instincts kicking in, and she grabbed her daughter, running from the room with her. Sumi and Emma followed her, and watched as she grabbed Sarah, who was sitting in the living room watching cartoons. Leaving pots on the stove and the front door unlocked, Lee got her daughters into the car and sped to the doctors, who took one look at Emma, and called an ambulance.

Sumi and Emma followed from the skies, watching the ambulance race up the wrong side of the freeway during peak-hour traffic. Emma and Sumi flew in through a window of the hospital, unseen and unheard, as Sumi led Emma to the emergency room, where the doctors were trying desperately to bring her body-temperature back down.

As the thermometer climbed past forty-two, Emma could hardly look, until Sumi made her and Emma watched as the body of her one-year-old-self went limp.

"Time of death, five PM." The head doctor said briskly, consulting his wristwatch.

"Holy God...Sumi-Chan, I just died!" Emma gasped, her throat going dry.

Sumi nodded. "I know. Just watch."

And so, Emma did, as the doctors went outside to deliver the news to her parents, and somebody else came in.

"Nanna?" Emma recognized the woman immediately. "What's she doing here?"

They watched as Hazel walked over to the cot, and looked down at her granddaughter. "I won't let it end this way, little lamb." Hazel said quietly. "Faith?"

And, to Emma's shock, the blue-eyed goddess Faith appeared, right beside Hazel. "It not look good." Faith said, in her usual accent. "Things go bad in other world, too. Perhaps, though, this be good for both. You come with me. We sort out." She picked up the one-year-old child, cradling her gently.

And, as they both vanished, Sumi turned to Emma, who was staring stunned at the spot where her Nanna and the goddess had just disappeared. "Let's go and see what just happened in the other world?" She suggested, and they both vanished.

* * *

Emma and Sumi had appeared on the deck of the Moby Dick. How did Emma know this? Simple.

Edward Newgate, at the age of fifty, was battling with a younger-looking Sakazuki, and both of them were fighting fiercely, in a battle that led them off of the ship, and onto the nearby island. As Emma watched, she saw that most of the crew was being led off of the ship and, when it was empty, a lone figure crept onto the boat.

With her long blonde hair, and teal eyes, it was easy to tell that Ino was Sumi's Mother.

"Let's follow her?" Sumi suggested, and led Emma after Ino, who had crept soundlessly onto the ship.

Ino moved purposefully, and seemed to know exactly where she was going. As they walked, Emma thought of something. "Hey, Sumi-Chan, are you related to Kalifa?"

Sumi nodded. "_Hai_ - her Father, Laskey, is my Mother's older brother."

"Wonders never cease." Emma muttered, shaking her head, as they followed Ino below deck, until they came to a door. "Hold on, this is the room that I'm staying in." She realised.

Sumi nodded. "Yes, and it's _always_ been your room. Have a look." They watched as Ino pushed the doors open, and entered the room.

Its decor was different to how it would look in the future - the walls were painted pink and white, and it was quite clearly a baby's room. Soft white curtains fluttered in the breeze, stuffed animals decorated the corners and shelves, and a one-year-old girl slept in a white cot.

As Emma and Sumi watched, Ino walked calmly over to the cot, and picked up the child, almost carefully.

Emma gasped - the one-year-old girl here looked _exactly_ like the one-year-old girl back in the other world, right down to the last freckle. "B-but that's _me_." She glanced at Sumi. "Right?"

Sumi nodded, and her hand tightened around Emma's, who turned back, just in time to see Ino drive a dagger into the little girl's heart.

Emma gasped, staggering back, and Sumi kept a firm grasp on Emma's arm, as they wordlessly followed Ino back into the deck. On the way, Ino made a call on her Baby Den-Den Mushi wristwatch.

"Sakachan, it's done." Ino said briskly, marching above deck.

"Good job, Inko." Sakazuki's voice came through from the other end. "Now, get out of there - we're finishing up here, too."

"Understood." Ino replied, tossing the lifeless body of the baby that she had just killed onto the deck, before stepping up over the railing, and using her Rokushiki techniques to get to the nearby Marine ship.

Emma and Sumi wordlessly stood by, and stared at the lifeless child.

"How could...?" Emma whispered.

"I want to know the same thing." Sumi replied. "The gods told me that my Mother doesn't like children. She herself told me that her biggest regret was giving birth to me."

"Sumi-Chan, are you sure you're not adopted?"

Sumi smiled slightly. "Who knows?" She shrugged, and then her smile faded, as they watched as the first Whitebeard Pirate returned to the ship, and it happened to be Marco.

He came to a dead stop when he was there and, like Emma and Sumi, just stared at the lifeless body of his captain's daughter.

Sumi gripped Emma's hand as a man with a brown pompadour came up behind Marco. "Marco, what's...?" He trailed off when he saw what Marco was staring at. "Holy God..." He closed his eyes briefly. "Marco..." He looked at the other Commander.

Marco nodded. "I know..._Oyaji_!" He called over his shoulder.

"What is it, Marco?!" Whitebeard called, from somewhere nearby.

"Y-you might want to come here..." Marco trailed off. His face, like Thatch's, had paled visibly and, when Vista arrived as well, he had the same reaction. None of the three men seemed to know what to say, as Whitebeard himself finally showed up.

Whitebeard stared silently at his daughter's dead body, absolutely no expression whatsoever on his face, as his yellow eyes stared...just stared.

Marco's fists were clenched, and he didn't seem to notice that the rest of the crew had returned, some of them injured, but all of them shocked that their baby sister was now dead.

The phoenix suddenly opened his eyes, which were blazing, and transformed into his phoenix-form. Sacred fire burned around him, and he hopped down onto the deck, and began to draw a circle with the flames. A swirling golden vortex had appeared from within it, by the time Whitebeard had figured out what Marco was doing.

"I'm not letting it end this way, _Oyaji_!" Marco declared. "This is not her destiny!"

"And, what would _you_ know about me, hmm?" A voice said, from within the vortex, and a beautiful woman with long blue hair and silver eyes appeared from within the portal. She stepped up to the murdered child, and looked down at her, biting her lip. "I see..." She muttered, reaching down and picking up the child with care.

"Wait, I thought that I summoned Infinity." Marco said.

Destiny's eyes flashed. "She already knows." The goddess replied. "Let me try and sort this out, first."

"Is there a problem with Infinity?" Whitebeard finally found his voice.

Destiny looked down. "You...could say that. Let me sort this out." She said again, and vanished quickly.

Sumi glanced at Emma, who was looking confused. "Come on, we'll go and see how this was sorted out, okay?"

* * *

Sumi and Emma appeared, floating over what looked like a scene out of some witchcraft movie. Twelve figures were crowded around a stone table, where the bodies of the two, identical, dead girls had been placed.

"Those are the gods and goddesses of everything." Sumi explained to Emma, whom was looking shocked. "You recognize Faith, Destiny and Twister, I'm sure. The dark-skinned lady is Fate, and blondie next to her is Karma. Chance is the blue-haired boy, and Luck is the leprechaun-looking boy."

"Wait, how do _you_ know what a leprechaun is?"

"I read it in a book yesterday." Sumi shrugged. "So, anyways, the old man with the blue face is Father Time, and Cupid is the guy in the toga. Boss is that guy, there." She pointed to the man with black hair and sunglasses. "Also known as 'the almighty one'. He's in charge here."

Emma nodded, and then looked at the two last people. "Who're they?" She asked, looking awed.

"That's Life." Sumi said, indicating to the beautifully handsome man with golden blonde hair and a strong face. "And, that's his partner, Death." She indicated to the pale-skinned, raven-haired lady next to Life. "The two go hand-in-hand." She added, and Emma nodded.

"So, what happens now?" Emma asked.

"Watch." Sumi whispered.

Boss raised his hands. "These two children, who were the same age, and died at the exact same time - will they be given another chance?" he looked at the blue-haired boy, who stepped forwards.

"They will." He said, in a monotone, and a blue liquid covered the entire table, drawing both of the bodies into its depths.

"But, in order for their lives to be returned," Life himself said, in an absolutely melodic voice that took Emma's breath away. "A price must be paid."

Faith nodded. "Is okay. Hazel already agree to give up place as living being, in fifteen years, to save granddaughter."

Death nodded serenely. "She will be well rewarded." The goddess said, in a soft voice.

"In order for thisss to occur, both of thessse children mussst be merged into one entity." Twister said, raising his scythe. "It isss the only way, asss Infinity isss not here..."

"Where is she, anyway?" Luck wanted to know, creating a number of golden coins that fell into the void, and turned it a bright aqua-colour.

"I will find her after this is finished." Death promised. "For my sister, this is a nightmare beyond anything. I did not foresee that this would happen to _that_ child."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Destiny whispered, as she created a mass of swirling silver light, that merged with the vortex, which morphed, and formed the shape of a sleeping child.

"We'll deal with that in a moment." Boss said. "For now, everybody focus - we have only one chance to make this right." He held up his hands, and the shape glowed white. "Oh, child which has died twice, reawaken as a new being, and embrace your life once more."

The white light swirled, and formed a blanket, which wrapped around the newly reformed sleeping child.

Emma stared in shock at her one-year-old-self, who was transferred carefully into Faith's arms. As everybody crowded around for a better look, Emma turned to Sumi.

"So, I'm...?"

"The result of two separate entities, who were merged into one." Sumi confirmed, nodding. "You are both Emma Pax, _and_ Emma Newgate. You have two different sets of parents, and two separate heritages. You are more than what you _ever_ thought that you were."

Emma swallowed. "But...so then...how did I end up back in the _other_ world? Why not _your_ world, Sumi-Chan?"

"At the time, it was too dangerous for you to be sent back to _Oyaji_." Sumi explained, as they began to white out. "The Government would have killed you the _moment_ they'd found out that you were alive."_  
_

"So then, what did they tell him?" Emma whispered, as they found themselves standing on the clouds.

"They didn't." Sumi grimaced slightly. "The idea was to let both him and you know, after awhile, but then..."

"Then what?" Emma asked her.

"Infinity went insane." Sumi said flatly. "You see, Death is her sister, and she blamed Death entirely."

"Why did it bother her?" Emma wanted to know.

"When people die, their existences become infinite, within space and time." Sumi explained. "When somebody of such importance dies, it becomes almost _unbearable_ for her."

"You mean...?"

"Emma, you were _always_ meant to become this." Sumi said firmly, taking Emma's hands in her own. "Everything that happened was pre-determined, whether the gods knew it or not, and your existence has _always_ been important. Whether you believe it or not, you _are_ the Princess Of Light, _because_ this was _meant_ to happen to you." She looked at Emma. "Do you understand this?"

Emma shook her head. "No, not really."

Sumi smiled, and rolled her eyes. "Then, let me put it that way." She held up Emma's hands. "That necklace that Faith gave you, which you thought contained the ultimate power, was only a focusing point. Grace's Heart has _always_ been inside of _you_. You _are_ the ultimate power. Do you know why that is?"

Emma shook her head. "No, why?"

"Because, when your Nanna chose to give up her life, fifteen years after saving yours, her destiny became that of a goddess." Sumi said, much to Emma's shock. "She became the goddess Grace, and her power is linked to yours."

"So...wait, then my Nanna's a goddess?" Emma gasped. "And...she _knew_ about all of this?"

Sumi nodded. "Uh-huh. You may have thought that she favoured your sister over you but, in retrospect, it was the other way around. Your Nanna may have gone a bit overboard with trying not to make your sister feel left out."

"Yeah, somewhat." Emma muttered. "So, Father Time turned things back, so that it was like I never died in that other world?"

Sumi nodded, again. "Yeah. Nobody but your Nanna ever knew any different."

"Nanna..." Emma muttered, closing her eyes briefly. "You know, it was at that time that my life changed...I felt so different from everybody else my own age..."

"I understand." Sumi told her. "You've never been _normal_. And, now, you know why. So, what are you going to do?

"Umm...?"

Sumi sighed, and put her hands onto Emma's shoulders, giving her a little shake. "You know, you've _always_ known. You're the Princess Of Light, after all, Emma-Chan."

"I have to battle Infinity, don't I?" Emma guessed, and Sumi nodded. "But, how am I supposed to do that?"

"With the help of your Allies." Sumi replied. "They're so worried about you, Emma-Chan...you're very important to them..."

Emma closed her eyes, and pictured them all, one-by-one.

Playful and adventurous Luffy, who had never lost hope in her and considered her his crew-mate.

Stern Zoro who, despite his gruffness, had always been willing to help out when things got tough.

Classy Nami, who argued with her all the time and, probably because of that, was one of her closest friends.

Comical Usopp, who listened to her advice and was always good for a laugh.

Sweet little Chopper, who trusted her and, for this, she was comforted by his presence.

Kind-natured Sanji who, despite all of his over-the-top flirting truly cared about what happened to her.

Cool Franky, who watched out for her and helped her out of that shell that she was trying hard not to withdraw into.

Calming Robin, whom she admired and who was always there to lend an ear (or several) whenever she needed advice.

Gentlemanly Brook, who shared her love of music and provided comic relief whenever she seemed to need it the most.

Strong-willed Vivi, who just seemed to know Emma's feelings better than anybody else, and could help Emma to overcome herself.

And, then, there were those two.

Emma opened her eyes, and smiled at Sumi. "I love Ace-Chan, very, very much, you know?"

Sumi grinned. "I know. He loves you too, Emma-Chan. Even though your Fathers were, well...you know." She giggled. "You two _have_ to get married and have kids, okay?"

Emma laughed. "Oh, yeah, the Government will _love_ that!" She sobered slightly. "And, Law-Chan...he's my First Knight, isn't he?"

Again, Sumi nodded. "Faith told you about the Lower Noble. If it had've been a girl, then it would've been a Dame but, seeing as it's _Law_..."

"What does it mean?" Emma wanted to know.

"It means that he's devoted to you, and to your safety." Sumi replied. "It also means that you don't have to worry anymore. You two can finally sort your feelings out. However, if you _don't_ marry Ace-Kun, then I _will_ haunt you."

Emma nodded. "Sumi-Chan...I'm so sorry that you died. Can you forgive me?"

"What's there to forgive?" Sumi hugged her. "It's not your fault. Besides, it was always _my_ destiny to end up here. I'm more than what you think." She grinned. "And, now, it's time for you to go back, and sort things out."

Emma nodded, and swallowed. "Okay...I know what I need to do. I need to make sure that Ace-Chan is okay...I need to rally everybody together, and make sure that Dawn Island is okay. Then, I need to get Georgia and the others back home, and maybe even go and see my parents...oh, which reminds me, I need to spend some time with my Father! We have a _lot_ of catching up to do!"

Sumi nodded. "That you do."

"Hey, are you going to be okay?"

"Sure." Sumi grinned. "I'll see you soon, Emma-Chan."

"Okay," Emma replied. "But..." She suddenly screamed, as Sumi gave her a push, and she began to fall through the clouds. As she closed her eyes, a feeling of coolness and calmness came over home.

_Yes, I feel stronger already...I'm going to be okay, and so is everybody else. We can do this, together..._

* * *

Onboard the Moby Dick, Ace stood on the deck, staring wordlessly at Dawn Island, which was bathed in the orange glow of the sunset.

Behind him, stood his Allies and, next to him, stood Whitebeard.

Nobody spoke. Nobody knew what to say, or even if there was anything _to_ say, until somebody spoke up.

"Looking at it's not going to get rid of the Marines."_  
_

"Yeah," Nami nodded. "But, Emma, what do you propose we should do?" She suddenly gasped, and turned around. "Emma?!"

Emma was standing there, looking calm, despite the bandages around her injuries and the fact that her hair looked like it had seen better days. She was still pale, but she was alive, and talking.

"Are-are you okay, now?" Vivi wanted to know, taking a half-step forwards.

Emma nodded. "_Hai_. I finally know...what it is that I'm meant to do, and why." She turned to Marco, who was standing nearby. "Marco-San, twenty years ago, you were the one to discover me when Ino killed me. You tried to summon Infinity, but got Destiny, instead."

Marco nodded wordlessly, as Whitebeard finally turned around, and gazed at his daughter, who was now looking at her Allies, save for Ace, who still hadn't turned around.

"_Minna_," she said softly, her melodic voice carrying gently on the breeze. "I have to apologize. For three days, I've been trying to heal, but now I realise that you all need me to unite you, and to help _you_ all heal. I've been selfish and, as a Princess, that's not right." She smiled across at Vivi. "I may need some help learning how to be a Princess, but I think that's what this friendship is all about - we're Allies."

Vivi nodded. "We are." She said softly. "We're in this together."

"That's right." Luffy agreed with her and Hancock, who was watching, rolled her eyes angrily.

"When I was one," Emma stated. "I died, as two separate people, one in this world and one in the other world. They were merged together by the gods, to create me. Essentially, I'm Emma Pax, _and_ Emma Newgate." She looked up at Whitebeard, who was watching her. "Daddy...we have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?"

Whitebeard nodded. "We do." He smiled, and Emma smiled, as well.

"And, umm...are you, like, cool, with me and Ace-Chan being...you know...a couple?" Emma asked and, at this, Ace turned around.

"What about Trafalgar?" Ace asked, his voice sounding strange because he hadn't spoken in three days.

"Law-Chan is my First Knight." Emma replied, smiling at the man in question.

"And, what does that mean?" Ace asked tightly.

"It means just that." Emma explained. "He takes bullets for me, he wields a sword, and, in my daydreams, he rides a big black stallion named Darkheart." She shrugged, as a few people rolled their eyes. "Ace-Chan, I chose _you_..." She was suddenly cut off, when Ace leapt at her, and caught her in a hug.

She immediately hugged him back, and then they kissed, that is until Whitebeard cleared his throat.

"Ahem?"

Emma and Ace drew back, looking sheepish.

Whitebeard smiled briefly at the two of them, before turning his head to look out over Dawn Island. "What do you intend to do about this then, my daughter?"

"I want them _out_ of there, ASAP." Emma said flatly. "And, I know _just_ how to _do_ that..."

* * *

Sumi closed her eyes as soon as she'd pushed Emma off of the clouds, and then she opened them again, when she felt something wet and cool on her face, and tasted salt water in her mouth.

She sat up slowly in the sand, blinking around at the endless beach, and then she heard footsteps, so she turned around.

Standing there, with his usual smile on his face, was Thatch.

Wordlessly, he reached out a hand to Sumi and, only when he had helped her up and she was safely in his arms, did he tell her how she'd done.

"You did good."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**. There...are none. ^_^;;**

* * *

_Firetrail - good job with finding all of those hints! ^^ And, thank you for the review!_

_AiSoraix3 - aww, don't worry about Sumi, she'll be alright! I wanted to lead some sort of build-up to Emma being who she was, and not just say: "Oh, and by the way..." It had to make sense! XD Thanks for reviewing!_

_KaiF . Raphaella - *hands you tissues-box* It's alright. ^^ Thanks for the review._

_MsWildLuck - emotions are good, especially when they're all jumbled, lol. XD Yes, Sumi's death was horrible, but she's okay, now. And, yes, Emma's identity is finally revealed! Thanks for reviewing!_

_Cocoa Liddell - Ace is fine. Don't panic. Blood-type F is equivalent to 'B' in the One Piece World. Check the website for more information. ^^ And, Emma taking care of Ace will happen soon, don't you worry. XD_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - wow, the big three, then it MUST be true. I'm honoured. *_* *Accepts the cookie* Ooh, it's even got chocolate-chips in it! lol, Ace's narcolepsy attacks happen at the WORST possible times now, don't they? XD Your Grandma and Mufasa are currently yelling/growling at you, but at least Sumi's happy! Thank you for reviewing!_

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - oh, don't cry. Your hunch was correct, yes, but Sumi is okay, now. ^^ And, that'll be explained, soon (because, Cupid is going to show up, which will be...interesting, to say the very least). Hmm, I think that I may need to see that movie. Doflamingo's situation will be explained soon, as well. We haven't seen the last of him (I swear that he has nine lives...). The Whitebeard Pirates were following the plan. The plan should've been revised, probably. And, yes, ShanksxMakino FOREVER! Thanks for the review!_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - why not all three? The reactions of everybody will be in the next chapter, just be patient. :D I hope that there was enough Hancock-Romance-Bashing in this chapter, just for you. :) Thanks for reviewing! ^^_


	29. The Way Of The Pirate

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**This fan fiction now has AMV's! Watch them at the following links:**

**youtu . be / iH12HP6U4mc - the opening theme song, called _Marionette_.**

**youtu . be / oY _ _ - ZImJg0 - the trailer, with the song _Love The Fall_. (Marvel at my terrible voice-acting!)**

* * *

**Parental Warning - the following chapter contains:**

**. Mild coarse language**

**. Mild level violence**

**. Eustace Kidd (because he needs his own warning label)**

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The Way Of The Pirate

* * *

"Say, Bepo…"

"Yes?"

"Is your skin white, or transparent?" Emma turned to look at him curiously. "Because, I heard that it's the latter."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Why are you asking a question like that at _this_ time, Emma?"

Emma shrugged. "Because I can."

Nami smacked her upside the head. "Don't start that with me!"

"Excuse me, but _I_ am royalty!"

"A royal pain!"

Vivi was watching, and giggling quietly, even though she, like the rest of them, knew that their situation probably warranted seriousness. They were about to remove their problems from Dawn Island – by sending the three Admirals, two Shichibukai members and the entire Blackbeard pirate crew to different parts of the world.

Then, they were going back to the other world, and the Whitebeard Pirates were going to stay and guard Dawn Island for a time.

A few of them were anticipating a battle.

A few of them were downright nervous.

And one – Ace – had some questions of his own.

Ever since Emma had announced that Law was her First Knight, Ace had been wondering just what that entailed. He still wasn't entirely sure where the surgeon stood in Emma's life, but he was determined to find out. This new revelation presented a number of answers – and at least twice as many new questions, much more important than the question over the colour of Bepo's skin.

Ace approached Emma, who was currently still bickering pointlessly with Nami. Despite having recently acquired the title of _Hikari No Hime_, it appeared that Emma's relationship with Nami had not changed unless, somehow, it had gotten worse. Then again, anybody watching could tell just how close the two young women were.

"_Ohayoo_, _utsukushi hito_." Ace said, wrapping his arms around Emma waist and kissing the top of her head.

"Ah, good morning, Ace-Chan." Emma grinned, leaning back against his chest. "Ready for today's mission?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Ace replied. "I want to get those bastards off of Dawn Island."

"Me too." Luffy agreed, approaching them with strips of bacon that he'd managed to snag from the breakfast table. "Come on, you guys, we've been preparing for this for two weeks! We're going to win this time, for sure!"

Emma nodded, glancing back over her shoulder at Dawn Island. _And then, and only then, can we finally do what _else_ needs to be done...Sumi-Chan…_

* * *

"Hey, Emma…I just thought of something." Usopp said, as they prepared to leave the Moby Dick and return to shore.

"Like what?" Emma glanced at the sniper.

"If you can transport yourself to anywhere in the world…" Usopp began. "Then, couldn't you just transport yourself to…say…Raftel?"

That stopped everybody, and they all stared at Emma, who shifted uncomfortably under so many different gazes. Finally, she looked up, and her eyes met Luffy's.

She said: "Maybe. But…that would probably just defeat the whole purpose of…well, life." She shrugged. "After all, life's not measured by how many breaths we take…but, by the moments that take our breath away." She smiled.

Luffy returned her grin. "Right! _Shishishishi_…"

Emma sensed a gaze on her then, and looked up, to see Whitebeard smiling slightly at her from across the deck. She smiled back, recalling a conversation that they'd had the other night…

* * *

_Emma sat on the huge shoulder of her Father, watching Ace and Luffy train together. She didn't realise that she was humming until Whitebeard spoke up._

_"Do you remember, that's the song that your Mother used to sing to you when you were little?" The captain asked her._

_She shook her head but then, suddenly, an image of the beautiful lady from the photograph flashed through her mind. "My Mother…?" She repeated, gazing up at the stars._

_"Mmhmm." Whitebeard nodded, taking a careful swig from his sake. "She would hold you in her arms when it was stormy, and sing you to sleep that way." Emma filed that piece of information away but, before she could ask more about her Mother, Whitebeard continued with: "Now me, on the other hand…"_

_"What about you?" She asked him, glancing at him._

_"Well, you were so tiny when you were born!" Whitebeard remembered. "I was so afraid to pick you up, I thought that I might break you if I did!"_

_"You? Afraid?" Emma blinked, and Whitebeard chuckled._

_"Then, one day, your Mother just picked you up, and placed you in the palm of my hand, where you curled right up and went to sleep! Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed at the memory, and Emma found herself laughing as well, imagining how that must've looked. Whitebeard sobered slightly after awhile, but his yellow eyes continued to sparkle at the memory. "You were talking by the age of six months, and holding full conversations with people at nine months old…"_

_"I know…" Emma whispered, and then explained: "That's what my Mum says…my Mum in the other world…" She trailed off._

_Whitebeard guessed what she was thinking. He remained silent for a moment, before saying: "Do you know what I told Ace, one time, about parents?"_

_"That it doesn't matter, and we're all just children of the sea?" Emma recalled._

_Whitebeard nodded. "Well, I meant that, so don't forget it."_

_"Children of the...sea?" Emma sighed. "I miss swimming...if I'd had the choice, I don't think I would have eaten that Devil Fruit."_

_"Is that so?"_

_Emma nodded. "Yeah...my Mum (in the other world) taught me how to swim when I was just two years old...me and my sister both." She sighed again, and then started singing the song 'Sister', by S2S, as Ace set fire to the deck, and Chopper fell out of the crow's nest out of shock, and people began running around in a panic while Whitebeard just sat there calmly._

* * *

"Okay, so what's first?" Nami wanted to run through the plan again, before they reached the island. She was a little bit nervous about it (they all were) but if running through it one more time would make her feel better, than they would.

"Okay, so the ones that we have to get off this island are Doflamingo, Mihawk, Kizaru, Aokiji, Akainu and the entire Blackbeard crew, in that order." Sanji said, sitting next to Nami in the long-boat, with the map spread out in front of them. "Doflamingo should be fairly easy to defeat - we've done it twice before."

"Yeah, and he keeps coming back." Law shook his head. "_Don't_ underestimate him."

"Don't worry." Sanji replied. "As long as nothing happens to Nami-Swan, Robin-Chwan, Vivi-Chwan and Emma-Chwan, then it's okay."

"Tell me again why we're going after Doflamingo and Mihawk first." Chopper spoke up, from a nearby long-boat.

"It's because we'll be able to get rid of them more easily than if we go after the Admirals." Nami explained. "If we went after, say, Kizaru, first, then he'd just as easily alert the other two. So, we'll take care of the Shichibukai first. Then, we just have to..."

"Fight three Admirals." Usopp's teeth were chattering.

"_You_ don't." Nami reminded him. "You're going to stay in the bar with Chopper and Kaya."

"Oh. Right." Usopp looked relived.

"So, some of us will scout the island in pairs first," Vivi spoke up. "To look for our targets. Then, one person from each group will report back to Party's Bar with what we've found out, and the first person will get Emma to that location." She smiled at Emma, who smiled back at her.

"_Try_ not to get involved in a battle _before_ we _absolutely_ have to." Nami added scathingly.

"But," Robin said quietly, from where she was sitting next to Franky in a third long-boat. "If that _does_ happen, then remember that Marco-San will be watching from the skies." She exchanged a smile with the phoenix-man, and Franky raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

Usopp did, though. "Ooh, better watch out, Robin - you're making Franky jealous."

Chopper and Luffy laughed at this, but Robin just turned calmly towards Usopp, and asked him: "Really? How so?"

"Uh, well, uh..." Usopp blushed, and a few people laughed at him.

Emma didn't, but she was smiling. _God, I love these guys._ She thought, as they reached the shore.

* * *

Emma, Usopp, Chopper and Kaya and walked into Party's Bar, to find the Red Hair Pirates in there.

Everybody stopped what they were doing, and stared.

"Hello, _minna_." Kaya smiled, as she walked into the bar like nothing was wrong.

Usopp, however, had stopped, and all of the colour had drained from his face. He was staring at the blonde-haired man, who actually hadn't noticed him yet, because he was saying hi to Kaya.

"D-Dad?" Usopp tried to speak, but couldn't seem to get the words out. He swallowed, and tried again. "D-Dad, is that really you?" He took a step forwards, and Yasopp looked up.

All of the colour drained from Yasopp's face, and he jumped up to fast that his chair fell over backwards. "U-Usopp?!" He cried, pointing dramatically at him.

"Dad?!"

"Usopp?!"

"You...grew your hair into dreadlocks?"

"Yeah...you...grew taller?"

"Yeah..."

"Yeah..."

They were staring at each other, and there was not a sound in the bar for the next ten seconds, until somebody said: "Yasopp, just go over and hug him already, will ya?!"

That broke the tension and, as Father and son embraced for the first time in a long time, and the atmosphere in the bar returned to normal, Emma and Chopper joined Kaya at the counter, where Makino was talking to the red-haired Shanks.

Emma didn't mean to stare.

Shanks glanced quizzically at her, and she blushed, ducking her head.

"Don't mind her." Chopper said cheerfully, jumping up onto a bar-stool. "She always gets like that with either old guys or cute guys."

"_Chopper_!" Emma yelled, aghast, as Shanks and a few of his nearby crew members laughed at this.

"Yeah, but which one is the Captain?!" Somebody called, and they all laughed at that.

"The latter." Emma mumbled.

Shanks grinned at her. "But, wait, aren't you Ace's girlfriend?" He asked her, teasingly.

"Y-yes!" She declared, standing up straighter. "That's right! I'm marrying Portgas D. Ace, and neither Government nor God can ever stop me!" She pointed to the ceiling. Everybody stared at her, and then many of them started laughing. Emma blushed even more, and buried her face in her hands. "Kill me now, Chopper." She begged him.

Makino smiled, and handed the girl and the reindeer glasses of ice-water. "I'd offer you something more, but I have a feeling that you're here for a reason."

Emma nodded. "That's right - we're getting rid of some unwanted pests on this island, namely the World Government."

"Oh." Makino looked worried. "How are you going to do that?"

"Well, the others are scouting the island for our targets now." Emma explained. "They went in pairs, and then..."

"They'll come back to here to get Emma." Kaya finished. "She's going to transport them to different parts of the world. Then, the Whitebeard Pirates will take care of this place."

Shanks nodded thoughtfully, sipping on his beer as he contemplated this. "The Whitebeard Pirates, huh?"

"Yeah." Emma replied. "I trust my Father."

Shanks regarded her carefully. "So, you really are his daughter, are you?"

Emma nodded. "Yes...I didn't know that until two weeks ago, of course."

Shanks nodded, as well. "I see. You know what people are going to say about this, don't you?"

"Yeah, but who cares?" Emma shrugged. "The haters will hate."

"It isn't like she got to choose her parents." Kaya pointed out.

"I wouldn't have chosen any other." Emma said proudly. "Still...I know what the Government is like, after all that stuff they said about Ace-Chan..." She cast her eyes down. "They're also worried about Daddy's crew forming an alliance with your crew, Shanks-San." She added, looking up at him. "I mean _really_ worried. However..."

The doors to the bar suddenly swung open, and everybody turned.

A few of the man gasped, in absolute shock, at the beauty that stood there, flanked by her (not-as-beautiful) younger sisters.

Boa Hancock strode into the bar, and the crowd of men parted, like Moses in the Reed Sea. She marched right up to Emma, and said: "Where is Luffy?"

_Kyaa, scary!_ Emma thought, panicking slightly. The look in Hancock's eyes was furious.

Chopper piped up with: "He and Vivi went to find one of our enemies!"

Hancock turned to him, looking like the world's scariest woman, and Chopper cringed. "He. Went. With. _Her_?" Hancock asked, her voice full of acid, and Chopper squeaked, quickly going to hide behind Kaya.

Just then, the doors to the bar burst open _again_ (much to Makino's chagrin) and a blue-haired girl ran in, but it wasn't Vivi - it was Nojiko.

"Emma!" She cried. "Law found Doflamingo! Hurry, Marco's waiting for you!"

"I'm on it!" Emma replied, running from the bar and outside, to where the blonde-haired man was waiting for her. He would take her to where she needed to go.

* * *

When they got there, Law and Doflamingo were already battling it out, and it seemed to have taken its toll on the north-end forest.

"Now what?" Emma whispered, not entirely ready to face Doflamingo again.

"We just wait for the signal, yoi." Marco replied calmly. "Don't worry."

"I'm not worried." Emma replied. "I'm terrified."

Marco merely smiled, holding her against his chest as his wings of fire beat out a steady pattern, and they watched the battle with a bird's-eye-view. Marco suddenly tensed slightly, and said: "Okay, there's the signal."

"Wait, what signal?" Emma asked, just as the phoenix-man dropped her, and she fell towards the blue-dome of the Room that Law had just created. Closing her eyes briefly (but, then, opening them again when she realised that closing them was a bad idea), Emma concentrated her powers, and then shouted: "_Ribon-Ribon No Grab_!" The ribbons shot out of her palms, and wrapped around both Doflamingo and Law. "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

They disappeared in a flash of red and gold light, only to reappear elsewhere in the world a moment later.

Emma briefly debated just letting Doflamingo fall into the shark-infested waters of Punk Hazard, but decided against it, instead throwing him onto the western-side of the island. This place would look a lot different in the future, if Sakazuki and Kuzan decided to have their battle here after all.

"And _stay_ there!" Emma added, for good measures, as she wrapped one arm around Law's waist and transported them again, back to Dawn Island.

They landed just outside the bar, where they were immediately spotted by Vista.

"Emma, hurry." He told her, as Law pulled her to her feet. "Zoro is taking on Mihawk."

"Am-am I allowed to get involved?" Emma stammered, wondering if this was such a good idea.

"Yes." Vista replied, as Marco swooped down out of the sky. "Zoro knows the plan, he won't be upset if you disrupt his fight."

"Yeah, he says that _now_..." Emma muttered, as Marco picked her up. As she was being carried away, she happened to glance at Law, who looked like he wanted to go with her. She waved to him, and then watched as Vista said something to him, to which he looked panicked. What did Vista say?

* * *

It was easy enough to find Zoro and Mihawk. The green-haired swordsman and the hawk-eyed swordsman were engaged in a fierce duel, with clashes of metal echoing throughout the forest glade.

"Jeez, are you _sure_ that this is okay, Marco-San?" Emma muttered, and Marco didn't reply. His dark eyes were trained on the battle, watching the two swordsmen move. Zoro spun three times, lunging into a back-stance, and then ploughing forwards into a cat-stance. "That's your signal, Emma, yoi." Marco said, letting go of her again.

_He's gonna have to stop doing that._ Emma sighed, as she fell to the ground, and activated her powers again.

However, as the ribbons grabbed onto both Zoro and Mihawk, the latter looked up and, a split-second later, just before they vanished, Emma felt a piercing pain slice through the right side of her stomach, in almost the exact same place as her appendectomy scar.

When they reappeared a moment later, on the cloudy shores of Skypiea, Zoro looked up in shock as Emma fell to her knees, clutching the side of her stomach. Blood seeped between her fingers.

"Emma!" Zoro ran to her, intent on protecting her from the Shichibukai.

"_Tomare_!" She snapped, and Zoro stopped, feeling confused, as Emma staggered to her feet, keeping her eyes glued to the hawk-eyed man before her. "We came here to leave him here, not to battle. Don't forget that, Zoro!"

Zoro grimaced, as Mihawk regarded them both seriously.

"That was your whole reason for facing me this day, Roronoa Zoro?" Mihawk asked him.

Zoro didn't want to reply, but he knew that he had to. "Yes." He muttered, only half-looking at the World's Greatest Swordsman. _Great, now he probably thinks I'm a complete idiot...damn it all..._

"Zoro's a lot stronger than you think, Mihawk-San." Emma said, and Zoro's head snapped up.

_What is she...?!_

"Is that so?" Mihawk asked calmly.

Emma nodded. "If not for the plan, then...well...who knows?" She shrugged, and then winced, pressing her hand to the sword wound in her side. "I think that, one day, you should train him."

"Emma!" Zoro yelled, as Mihawk raised an eyebrow at the young woman's rashness. "You can't just _tell_ him that!"

"I just _did_." She replied, not taking her eyes off of Mihawk. "Besides, it's not like _you_ were going to, Zoro."

"Why you little..." Zoro muttered, through gritted teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped his swords.

Mihawk regarded Emma coolly. "Tell me, who are you, girl?" He already knew, but he wanted to hear it from her.

Emma swallowed. "My name...is Emma Newgate." It was the first time she had so openly stated it, and it sounded good, so she said it again. "Emma Newgate." She nodded.

Mihawk's gaze pierced into her, and she suddenly realised how he had earned his nickname, 'Hawk-Eyes-Mihawk'. "And, what is your alliance, Emma Newgate?"

Emma blinked, and then glanced at Zoro. To Mihawk, she said: "May I tell you in confidentiality?"

"You may." Mihawk raised an eyebrow, and watched as the short young woman approached him. He would not attack her. He leaned down, and she quietly said something to him. He straightened up, as she returned to her spot, dripping blood as she did. "I see. So, that is what you have chosen." He glanced at Zoro, who looked frustrated. "There are those that have much faith in you, that one day you will surpass me. Seek me out, one day, young swordsman and, perhaps then, I will agree to your request."

Zoro swallowed. _Does he...does he mean to one day train me?_ He glanced at Emma, whose back was still to him. _What did she say to him?_

Emma suddenly raised her left hand, and ribbons arced towards Zoro, wrapping around him. As they teleported away, Mihawk thought: _Now...to more pressing matters...how do I get off of this sky island?_ He hadn't actually thought of that, but he might be back on solid ground by the time Zoro came and found him.

* * *

Emma and Zoro appeared in front of the bar, landing on top of Brook, who had just arrived.

"Yohohohoho!" Brook was thrilled. "Emma - you're wearing polka-dotted underwear today!"

"Don't _look_!" She yelled, jumping up immediately and, forgetting about the wound on her side, added: "Just tell me where Franky is!"

"He ran into Kizaru out the front of the palace." Brook explained.

"I know where that is." Emma realised. "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

As she vanished, and the others came hurrying out of the bar, Law, Chopper and Kaya all stopped.

"Is..." Kaya pointed.

"That..." Chopper gasped.

"Blood." Law confirmed, glaring at Zoro, who was immediately on the defensive.

"Oi, it's not _my_ fault she went and got herself cut!" Zoro snapped. "She's just lucky that Mihawk didn't decide to cut her in half!"

"You're lucky I don't decide to cut _you_ in half." Law muttered.

"Is that a threat?" Zoro asked him, his eyes narrowing.

Law's own eyes glittered. "I don't _do_ threats, Zoro-Ya..."

Nojiko suddenly chose that moment to whack both of them upside the heads. "Knock it off, you two!" She snapped.

"Yup, she's _definitely_ Nami's sister." Usopp nodded, as he and his Father stood at the door to the bar.

"So, where's Emma taking Kizaru again?" Chopper tried to ignore the fact that she was teleporting around with a cut in her side.

"To a place that should make Franky very happy." Usopp replied. "Also, we won't have to worry about any trouble, since Kizaru's a Marine. He won't do anything bad to Water Seven."

* * *

"I'm...so...glad...to...be...here!" Emma cried, as she and Franky leapt across the rooftops. Borsalino was right behind them, using his devastating light-techniques. "Oh, look, look, look, there's the sea-train!" She pointed wildly, as they dodged out of the way of one of the Admiral's kicks, _just_ in time. "It's _super_!" She suddenly flinched, as something clipped her right ear. "_Excuse_ me!" She activated her powers, not of the _Ribon-Ribon No Mi_, but of her own Princess powers. They clashed with Borsalino's Devil Fruit powers, creating a massive wall of light. "I am _trying_ to admire the sea-train, you jerk!" She was suddenly struck in the chest with a kick, that sent her flying.

As she flew through the air, she was caught by Franky, who dragged her down, off the roofs, and into a nearby ally. "You know, it's not a good idea to mouth off to somebody that's stronger than you, Nee-Chan." He told her.

"Who says he's stronger than me?" She muttered. "Let's just get out of here..."

"_Yasakani No Magatama_!"

"Oh no!" Emma and Franky cried in unison, as the projectiles of light rained down around them, and caused an explosion that sent them flying at least halfway across the island.

* * *

In his office, Mayor Iceburg sighed, and stared at the huge pile of paperwork that he was going to have to do but, before he could even contemplate saying that he'd lost it all, the door opened, and Paulie came in.

"Is there a problem?" Iceburg asked. Paulie didn't usually come in without knocking.

Paulie ran a hand through his dark blonde hair, and muttered: "Unfortunately, yes...it seems that there's a bit of a battle going on...an Admiral, by the looks of it..."

"Nma...that _is_ a problem." Iceburg agreed.

Just then, Paulie looked past him, and his eyes widened. "Whaaa..."

Iceburg looked behind him, out the window, and his eyes widened, as well.

For, flying towards them, at great speeds, was Franky, and a girl that they'd never seen in real life, but they recognized her instantly as Edward Newgate's daughter - they'd watched the live coverage of her battle with the Admirals last fortnight.

Emma and Franky crashed through the window. Franky landed on Iceburg's desk, breaking it, and sending the paperwork flying. Emma, meanwhile, had landed on Paulie, much to the foreman's horror, since Emma was a girl, and she was wearing a short skirt, besides.

"Oops, sorry, Paulie, I didn't mean to land on you." Emma replied, getting up quickly and turning around. Paulie, who could now see straight up her skirt, fainted from pure shock and horror. Emma ignored him, and hurried over to Franky. She grabbed his arm, wincing at the burns on there. "Come on, Franky, we have to get out of here! Admiral Kizaru will be here any second!" She glanced at Iceburg, and blushed. "I-I'm sorry to leave your office in such a mess, Iceburg-S-Sama." She stammered. "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

As Emma and Franky disappeared in a flash of gold and red ribbons, Iceburg just stared at the spot where they had vanished, and wondered what the Hell had just happened.

* * *

When Emma and Franky appeared in the front of the bar, back on Dawn Island, Franky immediately collapsed - he had suffered burns, after protecting Emma from the attack, which was blazingly obvious to everybody around them.

As Kaya and Chopper immediately swooped on Franky, Law came over to Emma, and then gave Zoro a Look, that plainly said: _That's_ what you're _supposed_ to do.

"Nojiko, has your sister come back yet?" Emma asked the blue-haired girl, as Law gently lifted up her t-shirt, to better assess her injury.

Nojiko shook her head. "No, not yet, but I'm sure that she'll be fine." Nojiko was smiling slightly. "Sanji won't let anything happen to her."

Emma glanced at her, blinking, and then she winced, as Law's hand touched the painful spot on the cut on her stomach. Law glanced up at her, and his silver eyes met her gold ones. She swallowed. Despite having figured out the reason why he was so devoted to her, she still wasn't quite sure where she stood with him.

"It's going to need stitches." Law told her.

Emma shook her head. "There isn't time." He gave her a Look. "But there really isn't!" She protested and, when he didn't move, she added: "_Don't_ make me order you."

He returned her gaze. "You think that would work on me?" He asked.

They stared at each other, just as the sound of running footsteps could be heard, and Nami appeared, yanking Emma away from Law.

"Emma, hurry!" She cried. "Guys, quick - Aokiji froze Sanji!"

"No!" Chopper cried. "Emma, you have to get him back here! Wait, I'll go with you, and carry him back here!"

"Go, I'll be fine here." Kaya added. "Emma, you have to hurry."

"I know!" She cried, grabbing Nami's wrist. "Where were you?!"

"Midway between here and the forest!" Nami replied. "Hurry!"

"_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

* * *

Emma had never been a fan of the cold. being so small, she had hardly any muscle on her to keep her warm. And, so, she was not particularly thrilled to see the ice land created just outside of Foosha.

She was also not happy to see that, as Nami had said, Sanji was completely frozen. "Oh no, Sanji-Kun!"

"Those ice-burns must be terrible!" Chopper exclaimed. "We have to help him!"

As Kuzan turned slowly, Emma flinched. Out of her, Nami and Chopper, there was no doubt that she was the strongest. But, out of the three of them, she also had the least battle experience. What should she do? There was no way that she could take on Admiral Aokiji by herself...but, if she could distract him for long enough, then Nami and Chopper might just be able to get Sanji to safety...

It was then that Marco showed up, swooping down from the sky swiftly.

"This isn't part of the plan!" Nami exclaimed.

"Screw the plan." Marco said calmly, although his gaze was tense. "It didn't involve the cook getting turned into a popsicle, either. Emma, you and I will deal with Aokiji. As soon as it's safe, Nami and Chopper will move in to get Sanji back to the village."

"Right." Emma, Nami and Chopper nodded.

"So, I was right..." Kuzan muttered, taking in all of the scene in his stride. "They're trying to get rid of us, one by one..."

Marco was suddenly right in front of Kuzan, his wings of blue fire spread on either side of his back. "And, succeeding, yoi."

As the phoenix-man battled the icy Admiral, Emma, Nami and Chopper hurried towards the frozen form of Sanji. As ice-particles came flying at them, Emma blocked them with her gold ribbons - multiple cuts appeared on her arms and legs.

Chopper transformed as they reached Sanji, and was just about to pick him up, when Nami gasped. "Look out!"

"Ice Block Partisans!" Emma gasped, throwing herself in the way, and activating her gold ribbons. "_Ribon-Ribon No Guard_!"

Nami screamed slightly, seeing the cuts that appeared. "Emma, get out of there!"

"_Ribon-Ribon No Grab_!" Red ribbons snaked out of Emma's wrists, streaking towards Aokiji. They wrapped around the Admiral's arms, and were immediately frozen by his ice, which crept up the ribbons towards Emma. "Guess what," she said, despite the ice that was slowly creeping towards her arms. "They still works when they're frozen - isn't that great?"

"It is..." Kuzan agreed. "Too bad it will be the last time that you use them, little lady."

"_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

As they watched her vanish, taking Kuzan with her, Chopper looked worriedly at Nami. "Will she be okay?"

"I don't know..." Nami replied truthfully. "Anyway, we can't worry about that, now! Just trust her, okay? We have to get Sanji back to the village!"

"Right!"

* * *

The wind howled, and there was blinding snow and freezing fog. While places like Arabasta were as dry as, well, a desert, Drum Island was in the middle of a week-long snowstorm.

Emma had sunk to her knees in the snow, which had become stained red with her blood, as she shivered - her arms up to her elbows and her feet were entirely frozen.

Kuzan approached her slowly, taking his sweet time, and looking down at her, calmly. "So, you decided to transport me to a nice place like this? Isn't that sweet of you..."

Emma looked up at him, still managing her small, lopsided smile. "Big mistake, huh?"

Kuzan continued to gaze down at her and, was it just Emma's imagination, or did the wind and the blizzard pick up a bit?

The Admiral spoke above the howling winds, still managing to sound calm as he said: "You know, the Government increased your bounty by one Belli. You're now considered one of the Worst Generation - a Supernova. Bounty hunters from all corners of the globe will be coming after you now." He held up something in his hand - a massive spear that he'd fashioned out of the ice. "I'd be doing you a favour by killing you now - saves you the panic of being hunted down by people like that." Emma grimaced, but didn't say anything. "To tell you the truth, I didn't really wanna have to do this - a nice girl like you, shouldn't have been mixed up in all this." He locked his gaze onto hers. "And I mean that. So, don't take this personally, okay?" He raised the spear above his head, and then thrust it down.

Emma couldn't help it - she screamed, and shut her eyes. "NO!"

When she didn't feel any pain, and instead felt a whole lot of heat in front of her, she slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring at a pair of blue-flame wings.

Marco stood between Emma and Kuzan, and though she couldn't see the expression on his face, she knew that he must still be looking calm.

"You always get in the way, don't you?" Kuzan stated, sounding about as annoyed as he could, which wasn't very much.

"I protect my family, yoi." Marco replied evenly, before turning swiftly and grabbing Emma around the waist, yanking her up off of the snow and into the sky as he took flight, his flaming wings allowing him to do so.

Kuzan watched them go, and put a hand to his forehead. "Ah, forget it...it's too nice out here to go chasing them, anyway." And, he settled down in the snow for a nap.

* * *

On top of a snowy mountain, Emma buried her face in Marco's tattooed chest, struggling not to cry, but a few tears escaped, anyway.

Marco wiped them away. "_Ne_, don't cry - the tears will freeze on your face." He smiled down at her. "You did good, Emma."

She looked up at him. "Thanks for saving me, Marco-San...I didn't realise that I'd brought you with me."

He ruffled her hair. "Yeah, well, Ace would've killed me if anything had happened to you. Now, come on, let's get you back, and unfrozen."

"I can't feel my ankles."

"I know."

* * *

Of course, when they teleported back to the front of the bar, and as soon as Marco let go of her, Emma fell over.

"Ow!" She complained.

She was immediately swooped on by people, who carried her into the bar to have her arms and feet defrosted.

"Where's Vivi-Chama?" She kept on saying, as the warm water melted the chilling ice away, bit by bit. "Shouldn't she be back by now? What about Robin-San?"

"Not back yet, and not back yet." Nami replied, leaning against the counter.

Emma swallowed. "How's Sanji-Kun?" She asked, in a soft voice.

Nami looked up at her. "We're working to defrost him. Don't worry, we've done this before."

"I know." Emma replied, as Law tended to her cuts.

"Make sure to rub the affected limbs once they're defrosted." Chopper ordered, as he scurried back towards the bathroom with some more buckets, to keep on helping Kaya take care of Sanji. Franky was upstairs, in one of the rooms, and being watched over by Makino and Nojiko.

"I'm sure that he won't." Emma replied, and Law smirked slightly, but the exchange was good-natured. Something had changed between them, and everybody saw it, but nobody was quite sure what to make of it.

"Are you sure you guys don't want some help?" Lucky Roo spoke up. "We feel kind of bad just sitting here, while you guys do all of this."

"It's fine." Emma replied firmly. "This is our battle."

"Ah, actually," Rockstar spoke up. "It's _everybody's_ battle - the World Government are our enemies, too."

"Yeah, but this is something that we have to do on our own." Emma replied. "Me and my Allies...I feel like this is a test of sorts."

"Hn." Law nodded in agreement, frowning slightly at the ice-burns caused by Kuzan's attacks, and making a mental note to dissect the ice-man later.

Emma looked across at Shanks, who was watching her. "Besides," she added, in a slightly louder voice. "Daddy has faith in us enough to not interfere."

Shanks just nodded, in a good-natured way and, at that moment, somebody crashed into the bar, creating a new door right next to the original one.

"Vivi!" Nami gasped, jumping up first to run to the blue-haired Princess, and her duck. "What happened?!"

Vivi, who was covered in cuts and had a few mild burns to her legs, struggled to get up, and was helped by Nami and Usopp. "A-Akainu..." She said shakily. "He...in the town-square...Luffy-San is..." She clutched Luffy's hat in her hands, and her shoulders shook.

Nobody had to look then, to know that Emma had just vanished in a flurry of ribbons but Law, who had been holding onto her, went with.

* * *

They landed right in the midst of the battle between Luffy and Sakazuki, and Law had to grab Emma out of the way of the magma. They landed right in front of Ino.

"You!" Ino glared at Emma.

"You!" Emma mimicked, glaring at the blonde-haired woman. "How are you still alive?!"

"I _deserve_ to be alive." Ino smirked. "Unlike that worthless daughter of mine."

"Don't talk about Sumi-Chan like that!" Emma yelled, and Law grabbed her arm.

"Calm down." He whispered to her. "She wants you to get upset."

"I'm already upset." Emma muttered, as Ino assessed them carefully. Emma didn't know what to expect. Ino was an assassin, just like Rob Lucci, and just like her niece, Kalifa. She'd been raised as a killer, and was probably a Rokushiki Master. The only Rokushiki that Emma knew was _Soru_.

Just then, Luffy let out a yell, and they all turned to see Sakazuki's hand wrap around the rubber-man's wrist, burning into it. He slammed Luffy up against a nearby wall, and then raised his other magma fist, preparing to slam it into Luffy's face.

Visions of Sumi's death danced across Emma's mind and, without even thinking, she closed her eyes, and concentrated on her powers.

_Hikari No Hime_ was a form that she could take on, when more power was needed than she alone could access. She didn't know how she was taking it on now, but she was. She felt the warm light envelop her, and felt her clothes changing again.

Law, who was staring at her, watched as the red and gold ribbons changed Emma's clothes into the gold dress, stained with red. He didn't have to look at himself, to know that his own clothes had changed.

Then, without warning, Emma opened her eyes as the wings appeared on her back. She grabbed Law's nodachi before he could stop her, and was between Luffy and Sakazuki in a second, using the nodachi to block the magma man's attack, just like how she'd seen Shanks do in the manga. Some of his magma had destroyed nearby buildings, and people were screaming in terror.

"What is it with you and hurting innocent people?!" Emma demanded to know, pushing Sakazuki back a few paces, and holding the sword in both hands. _Jeez, this thing's HEAVY - how does Law DO it_?!

"I'll hurt a thousand innocent people to destroy just one pirate!" Sakazuki replied.

Emma glanced past him, and noticed that Moonbay Fox and her crew were there, filming. Fox winked at Emma, and gave her a nod.

Emma returned her gaze to the fiery Admiral. "You're a shame on the World Government, Akainu - who are the citizens supposed to trust?"

"That isn't my concern." Sakazuki replied, glaring at her. He towered over her, as intimidating as, well, a man made of magma.

Emma swallowed slightly, and sensed Luffy's presence shift behind her. Her head snapped up. "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!"

As the ribbons streaked out everywhere, grabbing onto the intended targets, and transporting them away, nobody noticed the raven-haired figure that tagged along.

* * *

Emma, Luffy and Law hit the ground running - sort of. What _actually_ happened, was that Emma grabbed onto both Law and Luffy, and dragged them along as she flew a few feet off the ground, intent on getting as far away from Sakazuki and Ino as possible.

"Emiko, this doesn't look like Mariejois." Law commented casually.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I didn't expect Ino to be there, as well!" Emma apologized. "Sabaody will have to do!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Law rolled his eyes, just as Emma came out of the cluster of mangrove trees, to fly straight into somebody.

"Aah!" She cried.

"Whoa!" Luffy yelled, as they all fell to the ground.

"What the fuck?!" The somebody shouted. "Get the fuck off me, bitch!"

Emma shook her head to clear it, pushing her tiara back into place, and then looking down into the pale, eyebrowless face of one Eustace Kid.

_He has red hair and no eyebrows and a bloodlust...just like Sabaku No Gaara!_

Seriously, that was her first thought.

Two sets of hands suddenly grabbed Emma and dragged her back, away from Kid, who got up and glared angrily at her, before switching his glare to Law and Luffy.

"What the Hell are _you_ doing here?" Kid wanted to know, not at all pleased to see his fellow Supernovas.

"Just out for a nice stroll." Law replied casually, giving Kid a smug look. He calmly picked up his nodachi and sheathed it, before asking: "Why are _you_ here?"

"None of your fucking business." Kid replied angrily, before his gaze returned to Emma. "Oi, you, bitch - are you that Demon Of War I've heard about?"

"Y-yes?" She stammered. _God, he's even scarier in real life! Why do so many fan-girls want to meet him?!_

Kid had unrolled and was looking at a Wanted poster, before he nodded, and tossed the poster to Emma. She looked at it - it appeared to be her new one. The picture was updated, and revealed her in her Princess form. And, as Aokiji had stated, her bounty had indeed increased by one. "You killed a Celestial Dragon..."

"It was an accident."

"and you have some huge fucking power..."

As Law and Luffy examined the poster, Emma looked back up at Kid, who was looking at her. "Wh-what?"

"I heard you're not part of any crew, despite having your Dad's mark on your back." Kid stated flatly.

Law looked up sharply.

"Yeah?"

"You're joining my crew, bitch - get over here." Kid ordered.

As Emma looked shocked, and Kid glared at her, Luffy and Law immediately stepped between them.

"Go to Hell, Kid." Law said clearly.

"Yeah, Emmy's joining _my_ crew!" Luffy added, looking determined.

Law just sighed.

Kid was looking thoroughly annoyed by now. "I should have fucking killed you two here months ago!" He raised his hands, and began to activate his Devil Fruit powers - Emma felt the tugging on her necklace and tiara, and fought against it. "I'll start with..."

"LUFFY!" Boa Hancock came flying out of nowhere, crashing into Luffy and knocking him off his feet, pushing them both to the ground as she glomped him.

Kid, Emma and Law just stared, as Hancock nuzzled up against Luffy, who tried, unsuccessfully, to push the Pirate Empress off of him.

"Hancock, how did you get here?" Emma wanted to know.

"My love guided me here." She explained.

Law sighed again. "When searching for Luffy-Ya in town, the sounds of the battle led her to the town square, where she latched onto Luffy-Ya just as your ribbons transported us all here and, in her second search for Luffy-Ya, she followed the trail of feathers that you left, because you're moulting, Emiko."

"Are you _really_ my First Knight?" Emma gave him a Look, and then she gasped. A few feathers fell out. "Wait, if she could follow them, then that means that Akainu and Ino could, too!"

"I messed up the trail of feathers." Hancock explained, shaking her head slightly, and making her earrings swing. "Akainu went the other way, but Ino's on her way here, so we should probably leave, or else Luffy may get hurt."

"I can handle it." Luffy protested.

"Uh, no you can't, Luffy." Emma replied, shaking her head. "We're getting out of here - Ace-Chan needs us." She reminded him, and realisation dawned on his face. He nodded.

"Let's go then." Law suggested, taking Emma's hand, and giving Kid another smug look.

Emma also looked at Kid. _What an interesting character._ She thought. "_Ne_, Kid-San!" She called to him, and his brow twitched slightly. "I bet that you and I listen to the same kind of music - let's meet again!" She grinned, as they started to disappear.

"What the fuck?!" Kid exclaimed.

Emma rolled her eyes. "What _is_ it with you and that word anyway, Kid-San?"

"It's just a fucking word!"

"Uh...huh..."

* * *

They appeared in the middle of the bar this time, and everybody looked at them.

"Is Robin-San back yet?" Emma asked the nearest person, which happened to be Vista.

He shook his head. "No, not yet - Franky's been asking about her, too."

"I bet he has." Emma sighed resting her forehead against Law's shoulder. "I'm worried about Ace-Chan, too."

"I know." Law replied calmly. "It will be fine, Emiko."

Emma nodded, and then looked around. "Hey, where did the Red-Hair Pirates go?"

"To talk to _Oyaji_." Vista replied.

"Oh." Emma and Law said in unison. They exchanged a glance, and then looked over, and observed as Vivi came out from the back room, with her arm in a sling and Luffy's hat on her head.

"Luffy-San!" Vivi cried.

"Vivi, you're okay!" Luffy ran to her, and wrapped her up in a tight hug, much to Hancock's horror. "I was so worried!"

"I'm fine." Vivi was blushing, but she hugged Luffy back with her good arm.

Makino and Nojiko, who were watching from the top of the stairs, smiled, as Carue crooed softly.

Emma smiled, too, but she had an uneasy feeling in her stomach and, from the look on Law's face, he sensed it, too. Something was wrong.

"The battles keep on getting harder." Emma murmured, but everybody heard her.

"That's why we chose to do this in this order." Nami reminded her. "We're just lucky that Sanji's injuries are the worst thing that's happened - everybody else seems to be okay."

"Yeah, but what about Ace-Chan and Robin-San?" Emma wanted to know.

"Ace can handle it." Luffy said confidently, as he took his hat back from Vivi, but continued to stand by her side.

"Luffy...you met Blackbeard before." Emma replied. "You know what he's like." Her eyes darkened. "On...on the first day we arrived here, I had an altercation with him and his crew. That's how I hurt my shoulder. I was terrified, and completely overwhelmed by his power, and he was only showing me, like, an eighth of it."

A few people gasped, and Law's grip tightened around Emma's shoulders.

"He told me to become his woman."

Makino, Nami, Nojiko and Vivi gasped.

"What did you say?" Luffy asked Emma.

"No, of course!" Vivi looked at Emma, who was shaking her head. "Then...what?"

"I told him to save it for Jewellery Bonney." Emma replied.

"Huh?" Most people were confused.

"Episode 513."

"Oh, right, yeah, of course..."

There was a moment of silence after that, during which time Emma happened to glance at Law, who was looking positively murderous. He glanced down at her, and the two shared a silent conversation with their eyes.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted, by somebody being thrown through the glass window.

"ROBIN!" Nami screamed, as everybody sitting down jumped to their feet, because Robin's body was bleeding and battered.

"Robin, no!" Chopper had just came out of the bathroom from tending to Sanji, and looked horrified.

Nevertheless, the ex-assassin struggled, getting to her feet, as she swayed, and hands of support came out from all sides to help her.

Robin looked up, her blue eyes locking onto Emma's hazel ones. "Your Father is...fighting Blackbeard...he and Ace...they need...help..." She fainted, and only the many hands holding onto her stopped her from falling. Whatever she'd endured, it must've been bad.

Well, of course. It was Blackbeard.

Emma didn't even have to ask where this battle was taking place. Whitebeard and Ace were a part of her heart, and she felt her connection with them burning strong. Whitebeard was her Father, and Ace was her soul-mate. She would defend them this day with every ounce of her being.

Emma grabbed Law's hand, and together they disappeared in a flurry of ribbons.

Vivi's heart was pounding, as she and Luffy stood back to allow Robin to be carried past them, and up the stairs to a room, where she could be treated. "Stay safe..." Vivi whispered, and Luffy squeezed her hand reassuringly._  
_

Vivi turned to him, and saw the assured look on his face. "They'll be fine." He told her.

"How can you be so sure?" Vivi wanted to know.

Luffy leaned forwards and, much to Vivi's surprise, kissed her forehead, before placing his hat back on her head. "I just am." He grinned. "_Shishishi_...have faith, Vivi."

"Luffy-San..."

* * *

Blackbeard's strength had increased - there was no doubt about that. How else was he able to be taking on both Whitebeard and Shanks, _at the same time_?

The two Yonko had formed a temporary alliance, to take on Blackbeard without the assistance of their crews, and this reasoning of Whitebeard's was largely due to the fact that Ace was lying on the ground nearby, bleeding profusely, and barely breathing.

Whitebeard had already lost one of his children to Blackbeard, and he wasn't going to lose a second. He had also just recently lost a daughter, and her death was still stinging into his heart with every second.

Nico Robin had been sent flying, bullet wounds in her shoulders and sides, and Whitebeard was concerned for her safety. He had started to grow fond of all of Emma's friends.

Whitebeard himself was injured, as was Shanks, but the two of them were holding up good, that is until the rest of Blackbeard's crew got involved.

Whitebeard and Shanks should have known it. They should have known that Blackbeard would get the rest of his crew involved, which was a violation of their agreement to this battle, but Whitebeard suddenly knew that, even though Blackbeard's crew was intent on killing him, that something was about to change.

Blackbeard smirked, and raised his flint-locked revolver, pointing it straight at Whitebeard's heart. "Goodbye, _Oyaji_!" He said, and pulled the trigger.

"DADDY!" A voice screamed from the sky, and both of the captains looked up, to see a figure in a gold dress falling towards them, a nodachi in her hands, which she used to deflect the bullet as soon as she'd landed between it and her Father. Emma's eyes burned. "I won't let you, Blackbeard! I won't let you kill him, and then take his power using your own! He's my _Father_! Not yours!"

She was breathing heavily, and staring hard at Blackbeard, who stared back at her. She suddenly broke her gaze, to look over, to where Law had approached Ace. Her eyes took in the blood, and his condition. Her eyes filled with tears. "Ace-Chan..." She whispered.

Blackbeard seized his chance and attacked.

Whitebeard grabbed his daughter, dragging her out of harm's way. He was immediately set upon by Blackbeard and Catarina, leaving Emma on a nearby rock.

She was about to go and help Law with Ace, when she happened to turn around, and found herself face-to-face with Shiliew.

She gulped.

Shiliew smirked, calmly drawing his own nodachi.

Emma cringed. _I'm not adept at all about using this thing...I can barely lift it! Oh my God...help me..._ "Law-Chan!" She shouted, as Shiliew's nodachi came down, and she had barely enough time to raise Law's, and felt the pain shoot through her arms at the sheer amount of force with which Shiliew struck at her with.

Law, who had been helping Ace, looked up at Emma's shout, and his heart skipped a beat, seeing her being attacked by an actual swordsman. He suddenly felt himself vanishing, but Emma's ribbons hadn't even appeared. Was this...the power of the Princess and her First Knight?

_My entire reason for living is to protect her._ Law reminded himself, as he appeared beside her, and calmly took the nodachi from her. _And, that's just what I'm going to do!_ He lunged out, bypassing Shiliew's attack with ease, and thrust his sword straight into the other man's chest, although Law knew that he had missed the man's heart by mere centimetres. What a shame.

As Shiliew fell back, his red blood spurting out in many directions (Emma hid behind Law to avoid being splattered), Blackbeard looked across, and his face took on a look of rage.

"That's indecent!" He accused.

Emma suddenly smirked, and vanished in a flash of ribbons...only to reappear a second later, right in front of Blackbeard, who was shocked.

"That's the pi-do - the way of the pirate!" Emma declared, before she punched Blackbeard in the face. As he staggered back, bruised but not at all fazed by the punch, Emma added: "_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_!" She and the Blackbeard Pirates disappeared in a mass of ribbons, leaving Law, Ace, Whitebeard and Shanks on the beach.

Law was horrified. _No! She's going to do this by herself...is she insane?! Emiko!_

* * *

Emma, however, had a plan. She had timed her transportation to make sure that the Blackbeard Pirates fell - straight towards the waters of the Florian Triangle. It was time to get rid of them once and for all.

As she hovered above the waters, watching the pirates fall to their deaths, Emma was struck by a sudden thought. _Is this okay_? But, then, she thought about Thatch and Sumi, and about their unborn child, and her face hardened. "They're not going to make it." She stated calmly, her wings - Sumi's wings - beating a steady rhythm. Then, suddenly, some sort of strange black liquid appeared in the water below the Blackbeard Pirates, forming a surface for them to land on, much to Emma's shock. "Of course they did...but...how...?" Her heart was pounding. _What's going on? I sense a great evil...a power unlike any other...could it be...?_

_Darkness...gravity which draws everything in, and leaves not a ray of light..._

As the blackness enveloped around the Blackbeard Pirates, Blackbeard himself happened to look up, and locked gazes with Emma. He took in how terrified and shocked she looked, and smirked, although his eyes were furious. She had attempted to kill him, and now some other force was putting an end to her plans. Fate had smiled kindly upon them today.

However, Blackbeard couldn't help but admire the Newgate girl's methods. She had, by all means, been ready to send them plummeting to their deaths, and would have probably rejoiced in it. He couldn't help but admire her ruthlessness, as she'd tried to kill him.

He would one day either return the favour...or utterly destroy her Father by taking his precious daughter for himself...yes, either way would be good.

* * *

"Ace, are you _sure_ that you're okay?" Nojiko was being awfully pushy, trailing after him as he limped down the stairs. It was night time, now.

"_Yes_, Nojiko, I'm _sure_." Ace replied testily. "I'm more worried about Emiko, why isn't she back yet?"

"Ace!" Luffy suddenly appeared at the foot of the stairs. "Emmy's back!"

Ace ran down those stairs as fast as he could, and the circle in the middle of the bar parted, to reveal Emma, looking cut up and bruised and exhausted but, as soon as she saw Ace, her face brightened, and she ran to him.

"Ace-Chan!" She threw her arms around him.

"Emiko..." He muttered, hugging her tightly. "You're okay...I was so worried..."

"_I _was worried about _you_." She said, looking up at him. "What about Daddy, and Shanks?"

"Wait..." Luffy's eyes widened. "Shanks was here?"

"He and _Oyaji_ went back to the ship." Marco explained. "I think that Shanks said something about shipping out tonight. He's probably gone by now."

As Luffy looked disappointed, Usopp couldn't help but say: "You two seriously kept on missing each other, all day, Luffy! But me...I got to see my Father again." He grinned.

"No fair!" Luffy complained. "I wanted to see Shanks again!"

"Oh, Luffy." Vivi smiled slightly at his antics.

"Shanks said to give you a message, Luffy." Makino had come into the room, and she took a piece of paper out of her pocket.

Luffy unfolded the note eagerly, read it, and then groaned.

"What does it say?" Nami wanted to know.

Vivi took the letter, and read it. "It says: 'Anchor, so sorry that I kept missing you, but it was good to meet the rest of your crew. You all work well together, and remember that your team-work and friendship is your greatest strength. Keep trying to become a better pirate than me, even though you never will! Sincerely, Shanks.'." Vivi looked up, and caught a few smiles here and there. She herself couldn't help but smile, as well.

"So, everybody's okay, then?" Emma asked Ace, who nodded.

"_Hai_, Robin and Franky are doing fine," Makino spoke up from the bar, where she was mixing some drinks for everybody. "And Sanji is finished thawing out, but..."

"Sanji!" They heard Chopper shout and, a moment later, the blonde cook appeared from the bathroom, followed by a panicked-looking Chopper and Kaya.

"You need to rest!" Kaya told him.

"I'll be fine, Kaya-Chan, because your concern warms my heart so much!" Sanji told her, smiling. "Just seeing your beautiful face the moment you thawed me out is enough to set me on fire, my dear Mellorine!"

"H-Hey!" Usopp said, sounding slightly annoyed. "If Kaya says you should rest some more, then you should listen to her, Sanji!"

Sanji gave Usopp a Look. "And what's _your_ problem, Usopp?" He asked, in his regular voice.

"You're going against doctor's orders, Sanji!" Usopp replied.

"That's right!" Chopper cried.

Nami, sitting at the bench with her sister, started giggling, and Nojiko joined in. Makino smiled, and her smile was shared by quite a few others, including Luffy.

"Glad to see that you're back to normal, Sanji!" The captain grinned. "Now, how about making us something good to eat?"

"He's supposed to be resting!" Chopper protested, but nobody heard him, as Sanji started by asking all of the girls what they wanted to eat, and then he asked the boys.

"Oh, Sanji-Kun!" Emma called to him.

He smiled at her. "What is it, Emma-Chwan?"

"I'll go and ask Franky and Robin-San what they want, and then let you know, okay?" Emma suggested.

Sanji came over and gave her a huge hug, much to the annoyance of Ace and Law. "Oh, Emma-Chwan, you're just so thoughtful!"

"Okay, okay, don't get carried away." Ace said quickly, grabbing Emma by the arm and dragging her up the stairs, with Law close behind them.

Once they were out of earshot, Law said: "Emiko...why did you take so long to get back here?"

At the top of the stairs, Emma stopped, and turned around, her face taking on a very serious look. "Yeah...I have to talk to you all about that."

* * *

The next day, Emma stood in a room at the inn, staring at herself in the mirror. She remembered feeling like this once before - like there was no way that this should be happening but, somehow, the events of this day were going to make it more real.

It had been two weeks since Sumi's death at the hands of her Father and, somehow, up until this day, Emma hadn't quite accepted it. But now, here she was, standing there in front of a mirror and staring at the black, scoop-neck dress that she was wearing. She wore black stockings, but no jacket - her arms were exposed, and everybody could see that they were covered in plaster. Everybody else also had their own injuries to deal with. Some people, like Nami, would cover it up with make-up. Others, like Franky, would wear them as proud battle scars.

Still, it could have been a lot worse, and they all knew that.

There was a knock on the door, and Emma looked up, to see Nami and Vivi standing there, both of them dressed in similar black dresses, except that Nami's had a v-neck, and Vivi's was scoop-necked, like Emma's. The dresses were also shorter than Emma's, whose skirt came to just above her knee. Nami was also wearing stockings.

"Come on." Nami said, smiling slightly, and holding out her hand, which Emma took. They walked down the hall, to the room where Kaya, Nojiko and Robin were.

Kaya was wearing a black dress of a similar length to Emma's, but it had sleeves and buttons down the front of it. Nojiko had on a dress similar to Nami's, but she wasn't wearing stockings.

Robin's dress was long, with long sleeves, and lace, and she wore a black veil over her face.

As they walked down the stairs wordlessly, and Nojiko was putting on her jacket, they found Sanji and Zoro waiting for them.

Sanji was smoking on a cigarette, but he still managed to smile, and say: "My Mellorines, you all look _beautiful_."

"Yes..." Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Why the Hell are you dressed in that get-up?!"

"It _is_ a little old-fashioned, isn't it?" Robin tugged at the high-collar of her dress.

"Not you!" Zoro rolled his eyes, and jabbed his finger at Nojiko. "Why are you wearing a _Marine's_ jacket, Nojiko?"

"What's your problem?" Nojiko raised an eyebrow. "It belonged to my Mother and, besides, it's cold." She narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't _you_ just lend me _your_ jacket, if this one bothers you so much?"

"I _would_ have if you'd just _asked_ me!" Zoro replied.

"Which is why I didn't." Nojiko replied smartly, flouncing past him and out of the bar, and she was followed by the other girls, who all gave Zoro varying looks (of annoyance from Nami, to curiosity from Kaya).

Sanji said: "You've got a lot to learn about women, mossball."

"Shut up, dartboard-brow!"

* * *

Emma, as soon as she saw Whitebeard and Ace, hurried over to them, across the grass that was swaying in the slight breeze, on top of the cliff overlooking the sea.

"Daddy, Ace-Chan." Emma said, taking Ace's hand quickly. He squeezed her hand back.

"Emma." Whitebeard gazed down at her. He was wearing his usual outfit over his bandages, but there was pink ribbon tied to his wrist - Sumi's favourite colour had been pink.

Emma swallowed. Just thinking about her in past-tense was upsetting. And, it would be that way forever.

Ace looked up, and caught sight of Nojiko. "Is she...?"

"Yes, but it belonged to her Mother, so don't say anything bad about it." Emma said quickly, and Ace nodded, understandingly. "Daddy, did Brook manage to get what he needed for today?"

Whitebeard nodded. "He did. They're just bringing it up here, now."

"That's good." Emma nodded, resting her head on Ace's shoulder.

Ace put his arm around her, and rubbed her arm in a comforting way.

Marco approached them, wearing a black jacket instead of his usual purple shirt. "_Oyaji_, everybody is here." He said, in a sombre voice.

Whitebeard nodded, and glanced down at Ace and Emma, the latter of which had turned pale.

Whitebeard said: "Come on, you two. Let's go and say goodbye to your sister."

* * *

Whitebeard himself led the entire service. Sumi had been his daughter, and he was the right man for the job. They all knew that. And, of all of the members of the Whitebeard Pirates, even those who had been with Sumi in the Spade Pirates, none of them knew her better than he did. Not even Ace.

Emma sat there, feeling hollow and empty throughout the entire funeral, clutching Ace's hand and Law's hand like lifelines. She couldn't cry. She just _couldn't_. They sat in the very front row, along with Marco and vista, and Sumi's fellow nurses.

Nami, Nojiko, Sanji and Zoro sat behind them, and Nami had tears streaming down her face from about the first two minutes. It didn't matter. Even Nojiko was crying a bit.

Kaya had tears in her eyes, as she sat next to Usopp, and Vivi was crying silently, sitting next to Luffy, who held her hand throughout the entire funeral. Georgia, Carmilla, Penelope, Jacob and Robert stood a ways back. Penelope was crying, and even Georgia and Carmilla looked upset. Makino, standing next to Curly Dadan, wiped her eyes gently, and then somebody handed her a handkerchief. She looked up, to see Shanks standing there.

"Shanks!" Makino whisper-gasped. "I thought that you...?"

"I decided to come and pay my respects to Sumi before leaving." Shanks replied, in a voice barely above a whisper, although Whitebeard's gaze flickered over to him, in the middle of Marco's eulogy to Sumi. The two captains locked gazes, before nodding calmly to each other.

Shanks remembered meeting Sumi years ago, when the Spade Pirates had still been running around. She'd been a shy and awkward little thing with blonde pigtails back then, but she'd been sweet and full of energy once she'd gotten used to them. Her death was a painful reminder of just what the World Government was capable of.

Marco finished his speech, and then Ace said a few things about Sumi. He told them about the first time that he'd met her, and about how she'd earned her nickname as the 'Black-Winged-Angel'. His story of how she'd set fire to and burned down an entire town of World Nobles made a few people laugh. The sun shone through the cloud cover then, as if Sumi was laughing with them.

"I know how much she loved us all." Ace finished up, holding his hand across his chest. "And, I hope she knows how much we love her. We'll never _stop_ loving her. Sumi, our angel. Sumi, our _sister_." He nodded, and then went to sit back down.

Emma closed her eyes briefly, and then she and Brook stood up in unison.

Ace gave Emma's hand a final, reassuring squeeze, before she walked to the edge of the cliff, and then turned around. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Brook sit down at his piano.

As Brook began to play the music, Emma felt her heart thud painfully. This was the song that she'd chosen...it had been played at her Nanna's funeral, and now...it was Sumi's song.

_I love you, Sumi-Chan._

She started to sing _In The Arms Of The Angel_, by Sarah McLachlan and, with each syllable, she felt her heart break.

_Beautiful Sumi-Chan...it wasn't fair what happened...Sumi-Chan..._

During the second verse, Emma opened her eyes, and looked around at everybody. The girls were all crying now. It didn't matter. Most of the men were crying, too.

Ace and Law stared at Emma, and Ace had tears in his eyes.

Law lowered his head then, and Emma saw, or maybe she just _thought_ that she saw, a small tear glistening on his face.

Emma's own eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall. Her vision became blurry and glistening, as the wind stilled on the hilltop, casting a calm, stillness about it.

Then, Emma made the mistake of looking at her Father.

Tears flowed freely down the face of the World's Strongest Man, and that was when Emma's own tears fell.

She kept on singing.

"_In the arms of an Angel fly away from here _  
_From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear _  
_You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie _  
_You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here_..."

_Sumi-Chan...we love you. We'll always love you...Sumi-Chan..._

* * *

Blackbeard opened his eyes, and looked around him. The first thing that he saw was that his crew were alright - shaken, but still in one piece.

The second thing he saw was the most beautiful lady in existence.

She had long hair the colour of blood, and dark brown eyes. A black glow seemed to surround her, as she calmly regarded him.

"Who're you?" Blackbeard asked her. She looked vaguely familiar...

"I am Infinity." She said, in a voice as cold as ice, but she smirked.

From behind her, peered a little girl with dark pink eyes and pale skin. A scythe was in her hands. "I'm Little Death!" She said.

"And _I_," Infinity said, locking her gaze with Blackbeard. "Have been waiting for you, Marshall D. Teach. It is time for you to embrace your destiny...of Darkness..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**

**. So...this update took...forever. I'm sorry. *Bows* I've been really busy at TAFE, and I've been having some health problems. -_- Not as bad as Oda-Sensei, I don't think, but I need to go into radiology, and get some more tests done to find out what these things are. If IT has come back, then I need to find out, and soon. I...need more coffee, as I have no energy. :(**

**. Nindo = Way Of The Ninja. Pido = Way Of The Pirate.**

**. In The Arms Of the Angel, by Sarah McLachlan: youtu . be / jVbkz _ 3lO3c . Can you listen to it without crying?**

* * *

_YingYang21 - here's the update you waited for! Thanks for waiting and for reviewing!_

_MeowzDJ - yeah, Ace cheated death. ^^ And, just for you, Kid showed up in this chapter, but it's not the last that we'll see of him! XD Thanks for waiting, and thanks for the review!_

_Jamsine - maybe, except that I haven't seen the movie yet! I want to, though! Thanks for waiting, and for the review!_

_Shingheart of ThunderClan - yeah, she probably shouldn't have said that. And, more of the prophecy and of Infinity will be revealed soon enough, so just be patient (I mean, even more patient than you already have been). ^^; And, maybe I will watch that movie, The First Knight...maybe I will...anyways, so, thanks for waiting, and for the review!_

_Cocoa Liddell - yeah, go Ace! *cheers for Ace* Thanks for waiting, and reviewing!_

_AiSoraix3 - I did stop for a bit, but I'm back now (my assignments are glaring at me from cyberspace, though!). ^^ Thanks for waiting for so long, and for the review!_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - yeah, never mind your Grandma, worry about the big, man-eating lion! Maybe he should team up with Shiki and Absalom, and defeat all of our enemies, the lion way! They really do need a lion Zoan, don't they? *Creates fan-character* Ooh, a puppy! Make it a Bernese Mountain Dog! Those things are huge! And, cookies, yes please! Hmm...send me my favourite bad guy, Absalom - I'm sure that he'll be thrilled to be sent to me without clothes, lol. XD Thank you very much for waiting, and for the review._

_KaiF . Raphaella - yeah, feelings...nothing more than feelings...they always get you at the worst of times, aye? Thanks for waiting, and for the review._

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - lol, Ace is an interesting character, especially to fall asleep like that! What's gonna happen on his wedding day and night? At least One Piece Logic disallows him to doze off right in the middle of any Life-Changing Battles Of Doom. Hancock continues to suffer in this chapter, but so does Luffy! O . O Thanks for waiting, and thanks for reviewing!_

_MsWildLuck - I know, I was kind of inspired by the story of Kyoko and Katsuya, from _Fruits Basket_. I wonder if that's what REALLY happens when you die? *Ponders death, life and love* Anyways, so, thanks for waiting for me to update, and thanks for reviewing! ^^_


	30. Return

ONE PIECE

Two Worlds, One Family

* * *

A young woman struggling to find her place in the world wakes up to find a bunch of cats in her room...cats that turn out to be the characters from her favourite TV show, One Piece! Bound to each other, whether they like it or not, and trying to figure out a way to find a certain somebody's lost Nakama and get everyone back to their home, what follows is bound to be chaos, friendship, tears, romance - and, adventure! (Kind of a re-write of Straw Cat Pirates).

* * *

**~Parental Warning~**

**The following chapter contains:**

**. Adult themes**

**. Sexual references**

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTY

Return

* * *

The days were calm (when they weren't filled with the sounds of people training and/or getting knocked into the sea) and the nights were balmy (when they weren't filled with the sounds of partying).

The peace of the past week was still going strong and, even though they all knew that it wouldn't last, every single member of the Whitebeard Pirates, of the Straw Hat Pirates, and of the Heart Pirates was enjoying it as best he or she could, while it _did_ last.

People got drunk. People trained. Drunk people trained.

Emma had turned everybody that she could into cats at least eight times.

Cats got drunk. Drunk cats fought with each other.

A few times, the Marines showed up, but they were quickly taken care of.

Nobody was really complaining, and the bonds between the Allies (and, the Allies of the Allies) were growing.

Exactly one week after Sumi's funeral, Nami and Vivi walked onto the deck after an encounter with Brooke asking his usual questions, to witness Robin and Luffy playing Battle-Ships.

"Hmm..." Robin pretended to carefully regard her board, but both Nami and Vivi could see the hand with the eye, peeking over Luffy's shoulder. "E-3."

Luffy groaned. "Aww, what?! You _sunk_ it!" He started to remove his sweatband.

Robin chuckled lightly. "No, no, no, give me the hat."

"How about best three out of five?"

Sanji, meanwhile, had appeared practically out of nowhere, and with a plate of drinks for the girls.

"Thank you." Nami and Vivi said automatically, just as the waters around the Thousand Sunny were rocked, and they all stumbled. Only more of Robin's hands appearing in a flurry of cherry blossom petals prevented the drinks from being spilled.

"What was that?" Sanji muttered, straightening up, just as Chopper and Carue came up onto the deck, and Carue croeod a little bit.

Chopper translated for them. "He says that Zoro and Vista are 'training' again." Chopper even made the little quotation marks, somehow.

"Well, what are they using, _cannons_?" Georgia asked sarcastically, from behind Chopper and Carue. "Yo, have any of you seen Emma?"

"Yeah, she's onboard the Moby Dick, doing...something." Nami replied. She gazed at Georgia steadily. "You really want to go home, don't you?"

Georgia nodded. "Is it that obvious?" She asked, just as something small and lithe landed with a small thump on the deck.

"You've been chomping at the bit since Tuesday, Georgia." Emma stated calmly, straightening up.

"The term is 'champing', Emma-San." Robin, who was now wearing Luffy's hat, corrected her.

Georgia ignored all of this, and instead said: "Well?"

Emma nodded slightly. "We leave tomorrow morning. It's all been sorted out."

As Georgia began to look very happy, and raced off to tell her sister, Vivi turned to Emma. "Have you had any luck in finding out how we'll get to the Spirit Realm?"

Emma now shook her head, but she said: "Marco's going to contact the gods later on today. I'd appreciate it if everybody was there too, by the way." She added, referring to her Allies.

"Of course." Nami said straight away.

"It will be interesting to meet them." Robin mused.

"Robin, when can I have my hat back?"

"Tonight."

"I'll go and tell the others." Sanji added. "Luffy, you tell the mossball."

"Okay..._shishishi_..." Luffy grinned, as he got up. "Meeting some gods, huh? This'll be fun!"

* * *

Later on, as the sun was setting to the west, Emma and her Allies gathered on the deck of the Moby Dick. Although most of the others had decided to go to the bar that night, a few had decided to stay. Georgia, Carmilla, Penelope, Jacob, Robert, Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, Nojiko, Kaya and Vista sat nearby, along with Whitebeard, as the Allies watched Marco draw the circle with the sacred flames.

As soon as the last flame was placed, an eerie silence fell over the sea, and a cold wind began to blow. The moon went behind a cloud, and soon the only light was from those candles.

_Wow...scary..._ Nami thought, shivering slightly.

"Nami-San," Sanji whispered to her. "If you're scared, then you can hold my hand."

_Okay, not as scary as that._ Nami rolled her eyes.

Luffy was grinning in anticipation, as a ring of light appeared within the centre of the circle.

Emma subconsciously drew closer to Ace.

Robin's face showed no expression, but her brilliant blue eyes were shining, as a figure began to emerge from the circle.

He was tall, with dark hair and dark sunglasses, and he wore a suit, making him look like one of the guys from _Men In Black_. He stepped out of the circle, gazing calmly around at them all, before three more figures followed him.

One was instantly recognisable as Twister, with his long black cloak. Another was a woman with long blue hair and silver eyes - Destiny, Emma recognised her from the vision that Sumi had shown her. The third was...

"Faith!" Emma let go of Ace, and launched herself at the short, blue-eyed woman. She hugged her.

"Hello, Emma." Faith smiled. She drew back, and looked up at Emma. "You done so well, get this far. I told you...you capable of great things."

Emma nodded. "I had no idea...when you gave me that necklace, what would happen...who I would really be..."

The man with the sunglasses spoke. "If not for the interference of certain _others_, then you would have had a much easier time."

Faith gave the man a Look. "Boss, you not mean what Cupid and I did..."

"Cupid?" Emma, Georgia, Carmilla, Penelope, Jacob and Robert said in unison.

"Who's Cupid?" Luffy wanted to know.

"Cupid's the god of love." Emma explained. "He fires an arrow of love, and makes people fall in love..." She trailed off.

"Wait, wait, let me explain!" A man with angel wings and wearing a toga appeared from within the circle. "It's true, that I do make people fall in love, but only those who are _destined_ to fall in love!"

"It's true." Destiny said reluctantly, tucking a strand of blue hair behind her ear. "Unfortunately, the arrow hit _two_ people..." She gazed across at Ace, and thens witched her gaze to Law. "I'm glad that you finally figured it out, Trafalgar Law. How many different kinds of love there are."

Emma shifted uncomfortably, as Ace and Law glared at each other, and then Boss sighed.

"That doesn't matter now." He looked around at them. "The thirteen of you are finally together. You are the only ones who can defeat the great evil that has threatened us for so long. _Infinity_..."

"But, isn't she a god, just like you?" Vivi spoke up. She looked at Destiny. "That's what you told me, when you sent me in as the Decoy Princess."

Destiny nodded. "Yes, but her madness has driven her to a point of no return. When the Princess Of Light was killed, that was Infinity's turning point. I'm afraid that there's no going back for her, now."

"But, I'm alive." Emma protested. "Wouldn't her knowing that...?"

Boss shook his head. "No. We gods have our own set of rules, and she has broken too many of them."

"It isss in everybody'sss bessst interessst that ssshe isss defeated." Twister said. "Before ssshe hasss a chanccce to do anymore damage."

"Umm, excuse me," Carmilla spoke up, and the gods all turned to her. "What about that little girl, with the pink hair? Little Death, was that her name? Is she one of you?"

Twister nodded. "If thisss continuesss, then we won't be able to sssave her, either."

"She'll become an un-god, just like Infinity." Destiny explained. "We want to help her before that happens."

"But, why?" Emma asked. "What made her decide to help Infinity?" _I just can't get over the fact that there's something that I'm missing..._ She glanced up at her Father, and saw that he was looking at her. _B__ut, what is it?_ She narrowed her eyes. _You know...you, and Marco-San and Vista know, don't you, Daddy?_

Boss nodded to Twister, who reached out one of his white hands. "Princcccccesssss..." He hissed, in his usual voice. "Come to me..."

Emma swallowed, and shakily reached out her hand, but stopped, when all of her Allies stepped forward as one.

"Wherever you're taking her, you take all of us, too." Sanji said firmly.

"That's right." Franky agreed.

Twister looked up, his cloak falling back slightly to reveal black-painted lips. "Imposssssible...only the Princcccesssss and her Firssst-Knight may go..."

"Law-Chan, come with me." Emma said. "The rest of you, wait here...we'll be back." She promised, as Law stepped forwards, and took her by the arm. She tried to ignore the glare that her boyfriend was giving Law, and the smug look that Ace got in return from the Surgeon Of Death, as she took Twister's hand.

At once, a cold feeling enveloped her, and she shut her eyes, feeling Law's grip around her tighten, as they vanished.

* * *

When Emma opened her eyes again, she and Law were standing in a cave, which appeared to be lit with glowing rocks on the walls. Twister was standing silently nearby, and so was the most beautiful woman that Emma had ever seen. She had snow-white skin, ruby red eyes and long, raven-coloured hair, and Emma knew immediately who she was.

"You...you're Death, aren't you?" Emma stammered.

The goddess nodded, and spoke, in a voice as cold - and yet, as gentle - as the snow. "That is correct. I am also Little Death's Mother."

Emma didn't know how to respond to that, but Law did. He said: "Do you know why your daughter chose to ally herself with Infinity?"

Death nodded, again. "Yes. I am afraid that it is, to a certain degree, my fault. Little Death was born from one of the Flowers Of Hell, by a wish made by myself and Life. Already, she had a strange upbringing. She could kill mortals from the moment that she was born, and she didn't have any control over her powers. I kept her down here for nine hundred years, to train her and to protect her, but I'm afraid that it took its toll on her. She ran away, and that's when she met Infinity."

"What did Infinity say to her?" Emma wanted to know.

"I'm not sure," Death replied. "But, whatever it was, it was enough to make my daughter completely mute to my calls. She managed to deceive the Government of World 192853746. She told them that she wanted to help them but, in reality, due to Infinity's influence, my daughter despises the World Government, namely Akainu and Ino."

"Good." Emma and Law said in unison.

Death sighed. "Regardless, my daughter has caused a lot of trouble, and for that I apologize. She may have done all of this, but I am still very worried for her. She's my daughter, and I love her. A Mother will _never_ stop loving her daughter."

"What about Ino and Sumi-Chan?" Emma asked, but she was ignored. A sudden thought made her think of her own Mother, of Lee. _I bet she misses me...I miss her, too...she often threatened to sell me to white slavers, but I know for certain that she never would. I was lucky, and Sumi-Chan was not...how ungrateful have I been?_

"Death-Ya," Law spoke up. "What is Infinity planning to do?"

Death glanced at Twister, who nodded. "Come with usss." The god of change said, and the four of them began to walk through the cave.

The cave walls were alight with strategically - yet, randomly - placed glowing stones, and there were pools of reddish-pink water everywhere.

"What _is_ this place, anyway?" Emma wanted to know.

"This is The Underworld." Death replied, from in front. "My domain. It is connected with my partner's realm."

"Life...and Heaven..." Emma realised.

"The two are not so different." Death reminded her, which gave Emma a lot to think about, as she and Law walked hand-in-hand. Death continued with: "When a person dies, this is the first place that they come to, to await my Judgement. I weigh up their good deeds, as well as their sins, and then judge them accordingly. Between here and Heaven, there are Six Levels that a person can reach."

"Do the Levels have anything to do with your Judgement?" Emma wanted to know.

"No, not really." Death replied. "The only Judgements that really matter are the ones concerning those sent to Level Seven, or the ones that stay here, on Level Zero."

"Will Akainu stay on Level Zero?"

"I can't answer that."

Law was curious about one thing. "When you say Level Seven...what does a person have to do to get to there?"

"Level Seven is where my partner, Life, resides." Death explained carefully. "To reach him, one would have to have made the ultimate sacrifice."

"Is Sumi-Chan on Level Seven?" Emma asked quietly. _She sacrificed herself to save me, and to save the rest of my Allies, too..._

Death turned around then, and smiled slightly, with lips the same colour as her eyes. "Yes." Was all that she said, before she turned back to face the front, and they continued walking, again.

Presently, they reached the exit to the cave, and walked outside, into a land filled with dark trees, more reddish-pink water, and a dark sky. Despite it looking so spooky, it was actually kind of peaceful.

People were walking around everywhere, and a thought struck Emma. "Death...what about Kuina? I mean, she died, but she was able to communicate with us, and draw us into this world..."

"Sometimes, my partner and I give special missions to people." Death explained. "In the case of Kuina, she was able to do what she did because it needed to be done. It earned her free access to anywhere."

"So, once you die, you can earn a place in Level Seven?" Emma guessed.

"Yes, that is correct." Death replied. "It doesn't happen very often, though."

"What are the Levels like?" Law wanted to know. _I get the feeling that we'll need to know all of this, so I'd better pay attention, because Emiko probably won't!_

"Level One is a mass of forests." Death replied. "You climb up from one tree, and there is no ground. The entire world is just made up of giant trees. When you reach the top, you climb through a portal and into the Snow Lands of Level Two. You start out on a frozen over lake, and have to climb to the top of a snow-capped mountain, in order to find the tree that is the portal to Level Three, which is made up entirely of water."

"I don't think that I'd like that world very much." Emma spoke up.

_Oh, okay, so she is listening._ Law thought.

"When you die, your Devil Fruit ability is gone, too." Death reminded her. "So, you'd be able to swim there. Those who are sent there adapt. There is only one island in that world, and that is the portal to Level Four, which is the hills. After coming out of the small cave, you follow the stream uphill, until you reach the tablelands. There, you'll find the portal to Level Five, which takes you into a desert."

"Is an oasis the portal from Level Five to Level Six?" Emma wanted to know.

Death nodded. "Yes, but there are many Oasis Traps, so caution is advised. When you find the right one, you will go to Level Six, the land of mountains. When you climb to the top of the tallest mountain, Mount Sup'mylo, then you will reach the Holy Gates. But, unless otherwise stated by myself and by Life, travel between the Levels is not possible without _this_." She reached out a hand, to touch the compass that was around Emma's neck. "Hold onto it, Emma, for it is very important."

"I will." Emma promised, as they reached a pair of wrought iron gates. "What is this place?" She asked. beyond the gates, she could see swirling pinkish-red mists and, unlike the calm waters of The Underworld, it seemed sinister.

"The Forbidden Zone." Twister replied. "It isss the realm between realmsss. Come, we will go there, now." He opened up the gates.

Emma, clutching onto Law's arm now, followed, but Death stayed behind, to guard the gates. Emma, Law and Twister walked into the pinkish-red and black landscape, across fields of glass and over a bridge, where the water that ran beneath it was an inky black.

In the distance, there was a castle, but Twister led them instead to a black well. It stood out amongst the landscape, in a sinister way.

"Thisss isss the Well Of Chaosss." Twister explained, carefully leading them closer. "It had lain dormant for many yearsss but, now, Infinity hasss awakened itsss power."

"What does it do?" Emma whispered, not wanting to go any closer. The very presence of the Well Of Chaos was terrifying for her, in a way that she couldn't quite describe.

Akainu? Not so bad.

Doflamingo? Fine.

Blackbeard? Okay.

This Well Of Chaos? The worst thing in the entire existence of the multiverse.

"Watch..." Twister whispered quietly, before he suddenly drew his scythe, and held it out in front of Emma and Law, protectively.

And, as they watched, a tiny little gremlin-looking thing, a cross between a dragon and a bat, leaped out of the well, snarling and growling, before it ripped open a hole in time and space, and crawled through.

"Wh-what was that thing?!" Emma exclaimed, horrified. "And...where did it go?!"

"That was a Chaos Creature." Twister replied. "And, it went to another world, to start devouring it. Ever since Infinity activated it, Chaos Creatures have slowly been destroying the multiverse."

"How many worlds have been destroyed?" Emma whispered.

"Over a hundred million." Twister replied.

Tears came to Emma's eyes, and show bowed her head, resting it against Law's shoulder. He put an arm around her, and turned to face Twister. "So, we just need to go into that castle, and defeat Infinity, right?"

"Well, yesss..." Twister nodded his head. "However, it'sss not that sssimple."

Law sighed. "No, of course, it's not."

"You sssee, you need your other Alliesss here." Twister replied. "There isss only one way to bring them here, sssafely, however..."

Emma gave a short sob, and turned away from Twister. Law put his other arm around her, drawing her even closer to him, and then he nodded. "I see."

"It isss the only way." Twister reminded them. "If you do not, then everything will be gone, forever. Your power will ssstill be with you..."

"It's our duty." Emma sniffled. "But, it's just so horrible! They shouldn't have to do this..."

"But, it isss their dessstiny." Twister told her. "Our dessstiny isss sssomething that we _all_ must embraccce."

Emma swallowed, and then nodded. "Okay, I'll...I'll talk to them about it."

Law said: "We'll _both_ do it. Don't worry about it, Emiko."

Twister agreed. "Yesss, it isss not sssomething that you will have to worry about. We can help you to do it."

"That's not what the issue is here!" Emma exclaimed, and then she sighed. "Just get me back to my Father, Twister. I...I need to talk to him about something..."

Twister nodded. "Asss you wisssh, Princccessssss..." He held up his scythe. "But, know thisss - you will _all_ return to thisss placcce, and sssoon...you cannot essscape your dessstiny..."

* * *

Emma and Law appeared on the deck of the Moby Dick, which was void of any gods.

As soon as they appeared, they were swamped by their other Allies, mainly by Ace, who made a big deal of yanking Emma away from Law, and hugging her.

"Emiko!" He hugged her tightly, before he caught sight of her face. "Hang on a minute, you're crying! What happened?!" He glared quickly at Law.

Emma sniffled, and did her best to smile. "N-nothing's wrong...I just...umm..." She glanced quickly at Law, and then shook her head slightly. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" Nami asked doubtfully. "What did you learn?"

"J-just a few things, here and there." Emma replied carefully, avoiding eye-contact with anybody except for Law. "I know how to get us to the Spirit Realm, but...we can't go now. We have to go from the other world."

"So then, what are we waiting for?" Georgia asked, impatiently, from her seat on top of a rum barrel.

"Just one more night, okay, Georgia?" Emma begged her. "Then, we'll go in the morning. I promise you, okay?"

"Okay." Georgia narrowed her eyes. "And, you'd better mean it, this time."

"I do." Emma nodded. "Just one more night." She repeated, giving her Father an 'I-Need-To-Talk-To-You' look, which he interpreted correctly.

* * *

"I see." Whitebeard said, taking a swig from his sake. he calmly regarded his daughter, who sat on a nearby chair with her legs curled up underneath of her, and a photograph in her hands - it was the photograph of her, with her parents. Whitebeard and...that mysterious lady who was her Mother. "You didn't want to tell the others?"

Emma shook her head. "How can I? How can I tell them that all of their hopes and dreams are going to be destroyed, and that they _have_ to do it, or else we're all going to be reduced to nothingness?" _God, I haven't listened to that song in _ages_..._ "I mean, Luffy's supposed to become the Pirate King, and Zoro has to be the World's Greatest Swordsman, and Nami has to draw her map of the world, and Usopp's going to become a brave warrior of the sea, and Sanji's got to find the All-Blue, and Chopper has to invent that miracle cure for everything, and Robin's meant to find the Rio Poneglyphs and change the world, and Franky was supposed to sail all around the world in the ship that he designed..." She was crying by this stage, tears dripping down her face and onto the photograph. "Daddy...I...all I want is for them to achieve their dreams, and they can't! Because they're my Allies! How am I supposed to tell them that they have to die?!"

"Come here, Emma." Whitebeard said, and she did, hurrying over to him as he drew her against his chest, and she sobbed. "Have you ever thought about what kinds of people they are, Emma?" She shook her head. "There are many different kinds of people in the world, Emma. There are selfish people, and selfless people. I believe that you and your Allies fall into the latter category."

She looked up at him, with damp eyes. "You think so?"

Whitebeard nodded. "Yes, my daughter, I do. I think that, if they can do this for you, and for everybody else, then their lives will have some sort of fulfilment, and they won't regret it."

Emma swallowed, as he put her back down again. She looked up at him. "But, Daddy, I...I wanted to be with Ace, and start a family...I wanted to be _that_ kind of woman...I love him."

"I know." Whitebeard replied. _She wanted to WHAT?! Yes, I approve of her being with Ace, but the thought of them...okay, calm down..._ "But, something your Mother used to say is that 'love survives beyond our lives'. It means that it never dies, even when we do."

Emma nodded. "Okay...and, speaking of which...about my Mother..."

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

"Enter." Whitebeard said, and the door opened, to reveal Ace.

There was no expression on the other pirate's face, as he looked at Emma, and said: "Can I borrow you, please?"

Emma paled slightly. _Oh my God, he just heard all of that, didn't he?_ Nodding, she walked over to the door. "See you later, Daddy." She called to her Father, as she closed the door behind her.

Emma followed Ace wordlessly through the halls of the Moby Dick, staring at the tattoo on his back, and trying to figure out what she should say.

They walked past various people, and Emma couldn't help but notice the potential couples that could never be...Luffy and Vivi...Franky and Robin...Usopp and Kaya...Sanji and Nami...Zoro and Nojiko...wait, what?

Emma just shook her head, and followed Ace to his room. They walked inside, shutting the door behind them.

Ace stood in the centre of the room, not moving, and Emma tentatively asked him: "Did you...hear all of that?"

"I did." Ace replied, confirming Emma's worst suspicions. He turned around, and looked at her. "_Daijoubu_."

"_Dai_...wait, what did you just say?" Emma blinked. "It's alright?"

Ace crossed the room to her, and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm prepared to die, if it means fulfilling my destiny. You _are_ my destiny, Emiko."_  
_

Emma swallowed. "You're my destiny too, Ace-Chan..." She reached up a hand, to cup the side of his face. "I love you..."

"I love you, too..." Ace gently took her hand, and then kissed it. "And, if we're going to die, then...I want to be with you. Tonight."

It clicked with Emma immediately what he meant, and her heart began to race. Ace drew her close to him, resting his chin on the top of her head, waiting for her answer.

_When we die, we'll die together, but I'm not afraid, as long as we're together..._

Emma moved back slightly, and looked up at him. "I love you, Ace-Chan." She said, closing her eyes. "Let's be together..."

She didn't see Ace's smile, but she felt it, when he placed his lips to hers, and kissed her, which was the beginning of their night together...

* * *

The next day, Emma was sore. Her whole entire body hurt, and she hoped that nobody would notice but, no such luck.

"Emmy, why are you limping?" Luffy wanted to know.

Before Emma (who was wincing) could answer, Nami came charging up to her, a look of outrage and shock on her face. "No! You _didn't_!" She yelled, so loudly that everybody looked at them. She took Emma by the wrist and led her away. When they were alone, she turned to her, and hissed: "Did you and Ace have sex?!"_  
_

Emma swallowed and then, checking to make sure that nobody was around, she nodded. "Well, yeah, we did." _Yup, you've done it, Emma. You're no longer a virgin. Welcome to the world of adulthood._

Nami's eyes were about the size of saucers, as she stared in disbelief, gaping.

Nojiko came up, and gently pushed her younger sister away. "Calm down Nami, it was bound to happen." She winked at Emma. "It's about time."

Emma was depressed after that - how many more people were going to find out?

As she walked down the hall, Kaya smiled at her.

When she turned the corner, Vivi was there, and she looked startled, but then gave a wavering sort of smile.

Robin gave her a knowing look from across the dining hall, when she arrived for breakfast.

Emma had to refrain from slamming her head down onto the table and, when she looked up, Ace was there.

Memories of the previous night came flooding back to her, and she blushed, but she felt it, too - a strong, almost magnetic pull, that was tugging her towards that one man. Towards Ace, her soul-mate.

Ace was about to sit down next to her, when Emma was pounced on by the nurses, who dragged her away.

"Noooo, coffee!" Emma complained, as she was dragged into the med-bay, and had to endure ten minutes of gruelling questions about 'safety' from the nurses, until she was found and rescued by Robin.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked Emma calmly, as they sat up on deck, with cups of coffee.

Emma just shrugged, and muttered something about 'is nothing sacred, anymore?'.

Robin smiled, and the two of them lapsed into silence, that is until Georgia showed up, with her sister and her sister's colleagues in tow.

"Emma." Georgia began.

"AURGH!" Emma finally lost it, throwing her empty cup down (Robin caught it, just before it hit the deck) and storming over to the other side of the deck.

"Emma-San," Robin called to her. "I believe that Georgia was merely going to enquire as to when we were leaving."

"Oh." Emma blushed, and looked sheepish, as she came back. "I thought that you were...oh, never mind. Yes, about leaving..."

"Can we go soon, please?" Carmilla wanted to know.

Emma nodded. "Go and gather everybody together. Then...we can go..."

Georgia nodded, and she and the others set off.

Emma turned back to Robin. "Don't you dare say a word." She warned the older woman.

Robin smiled, and sipped on her coffee. "About what?"

* * *

"So, then, this is it?" Chopper asked, hitching up his backpack. "Are we really going back?"

"Yup." Georgia was grinning, as she rocked back and forth on her heels. "Just as soon as Emma gets back out here..."

"I'm here." Emma spoke up, walking towards them, with Ace in tow.

"Then, let's go!" Georgia suggested. "That way, I can go home, and you guys can...do whatever it is that you have to do."

Emma exchanged a glance with Law, and Robin noted this. There was something going on, that much was for certain, and Robin had been wondering about it since last night but, before she could dwell on it for too much longer, Carmilla spoke up.

"Look, there." Carmilla pointed and so, of course, they all looked.

"The Marines!" Somebody cried, unnecessarily.

"We can take them!" Luffy and Ace said in unison, readying themselves, but Emma stopped them.

"Wait!" She said sharply, before she borrowed Usopp's spyglass, and focused in on the ship. There, standing on the bow, and holding a white flag, was... "Grandpa Garp!"

"There she goes." Ace rolled his eyes, watching as Emma leapt through the air, easily crossing the distance between the two ships, and throwing her arms around Monkey D. Garp.

Ace sighed, and then happened to glance up, at Whitebeard, who had somehow appeared on-deck without anybody noticing. The look in the old sea captain's eyes was hard to read, but Ace, who knew Whitebeard quite well, recognized it instantly. Whatever shaky alliance he had had with Garp back in Dunsborough did not extend to sharing his daughter with the Marine. Whitebeard had lost Emma once before, and it was going to take him a long time to get over that. Perhaps he never would.

Presently, Garp was standing on the deck of the Moby Dick (under the watchful eyes of about half of the Whitebeard crew). A few Marines accompanied him, amongst them, Coby and Helmeppo.

Emma caught the eyes of the pink-haired captain, and pointed first at her own eyes, and then at his, making him cringe. She grinned, as Luffy laughed at Coby's fear.

Whitebeard addressed Garp. "So, you're here to find out what's going on with the Allies." It wasn't a question.

Garp nodded calmly. "They caused an awful lot of problems for us last week, with that little charade."

"That little _charade_ got rid of all the problems from Dawn Island, _Ojichan_." Ace told Garp. "Especially after what happened." He narrowed his eyes.

Garp sighed. "If you're referring to Sumi, then..."

"Grandpa," Emma interrupted him, seeing the looks on the faces of a few of the Whitebeard Pirates. "Can we wrap this up, please? I have to go somewhere."

"Go to where?" Garp looked down at her. "Granddaughter, where are you going?"

"Back to the other world." Emma replied, and Garp looked surprised. "I'm taking Georgia and the others home, and then...the rest of us have a mission to complete."

Garp closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again, looking not at Emma, but at Ace and Luffy. "I have orders to not let you leave." He said, regretfully.

"I'm afraid that you fail to understand the severity of the situation, Garp-Ya." Law stepped forwards, and a few of the Marines tensed. "If we don't defeat Infinity, then her Chaos Creatures will continue to devour worlds...including this one." He added, and a few people gulped.

"Over a hundred million worlds have already been destroyed." Emma said quietly, and Ace silently took her hand. It comforted her. "It's my duty, as _Hikari No Hime_, to stop this from happening...me and my Allies...we _have_ to go." She looked up at Garp. "You won't stop us."

Garp shook his head. "I said that I have _orders_...I _didn't_ say that I was going to carry them out."

Emma blinked. "You mean...?"

Garp looked at her. "Do you remember that conversation that we had on the back porch of your house?"

Emma thought back, and then she remembered. She nodded. "I see...so, then..."

"I've thought about what you said." Garp told her. "You've raised some very valid points, Granddaughter."

She swallowed. "Y-yes, well..."

"I still haven't properly thanked you, for what you did back then." Garp continued, surprising everybody by suddenly kneeling in the formal _seiza_ position. "Saving the lives of my grandsons...thank you, Emma, for doing what I couldn't. You've become a hero."

The Marines looked shocked, and so did a great number of the Whitebeard Pirates, and a few of the Straw Hat Pirates and Heart Pirates, too.

Emma, meanwhile, was frozen to the spot, staring at Garp being so OOC, and feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She felt Ace's hand tighten around her own, and sensed Luffy standing rigidly on her other side. Something about that, and about hearing Garp's gratitude, brought tears to her eyes, that soon spilled over silently.

It didn't matter. Franky was sobbing, crying very manly tears at the beautiful situation.

"So...so then..." Emma said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're letting us go?"

Garp looked up at her, and adjusted his position, straightening up. "No."

"But, you just said..."

"I'm coming with you."

There was a moment of silence, in which nobody moved or spoke, and Emma just stared at her Grandfather, whom stared back at her.

Then...

"No way!" Luffy yelled.

"Like _Hell_ you're coming with us, _Ojichan_!" Ace added.

"We can't take any _more_ people with us!" Nami exclaimed.

"It would just get troublesome!" Usopp added.

"It's already troublesome." Zoro murmured.

"For once, I completely agree with you, Mossy." Sanji muttered, lighting a cigarette.

"Shut up, Curly." Zoro snapped, going to elbow Sanji, who dodged, and Usopp ended up getting hit instead.

"Oh, a wise guy, aye?" Usopp glared at Zoro. "You're lucky that I'm in a good mood."

Zoro just rolled his eyes, as Ace, Luffy and Nami argued about the cons of Garp coming along with them, and Vivi wondered: "How come they all seem to have an opinion on this?"

Nojiko just shrugged.

Law stepped forwards then, and held up his hands, bringing silence. He looked around at Luffy, Ace, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook and Vivi, and then said: "It's up to Emiko. She's our leader."

All eyes turned to Emma, who cringed. She swallowed, and then said: "I-I really d-don't mind..."

"Emma!"

"Emiko!"

"Emmy!" Luffy grabbed onto Emma's arm. "Why?!"

"Luffy." Emma looked at him. "He's our Grandfather." Luffy blinked. "And, besides, he's not so bad!" She grinned.

Ace sighed. "Emiko, we need to discuss your definition of 'not so bad'."

"Then, that settles it." Garp stood up, and grinned. "When do we leave?"

"Right now...right?" Georgia looked at Emma and, when the other red-head seemed to be having a silent, eyes-only conversation with her Father, she got right up in her face. "_Right_?"

Emma sighed, defeated. "Right."

"Be careful, Nami." Nojiko hugged her little sister.

"I will be." Nami promised.

"Nami, knowing us, maybe that's _not_ the best thing for you to be promising." Zoro spoke up.

"Shut up, Zoro!" Nami snapped.

Nojiko smiled slightly. "Why, Zoro, thank you so very much for volunteering to protect my little sister."

"Little?!"

"Wait, why do _I_ have to do it?!" Zoro demanded to know.

"Yeah, why him?" Sanji protested. "_I_ would be _much_ more suited for the job!"

Nojiko smiled widely. "Then, you can _both_ protect her." She was smiling, but her teal eyes were fierce. "And," she went on, in an eerily pleasant voice. "If anything happens to her, then I will kill you."

Sanji and Zoro gulped.

Nearby, Usopp was trying to say a private goodbye to Kaya. That was a little bit hard to do with the eyes of nearly every single Whitebeard Pirate, Heart Pirate and Marine boring holes into them, but they tried.

Law was leaving his crew with some very strict instructions, and told them all to be careful. Bepo looked like he was about to cry.

"May the force be with you." That was Georgia saying goodbye to the Whitebeard Pirates.

Emma stepped up to her Father, and allowed him to pick her up. She hugged him as best that she could around his neck, trying not to cry.

"Goodbye, Daddy." She said quietly, holding onto him, and breathing in deeply. His scent was of sake, and of the sea.

"It's not goodbye forever." He assured her. He held her out, and looked at her. "We'll see each other again, and soon."

She nodded, as he put her back down. Georgia immediately latched onto her, like she was afraid that Emma would disappear without her.

Whitebeard looked over at Garp, and at his two grandsons. "You three..." He said, in his deep, gravelly voice. "Protect Emma with your lives." There was so much strength and fierceness in her voice, that none of the three that he was addressing would - could - respond. "She is...amongst the most precious treasure in the world to me, and I cannot lose her again."

Emma stared up at Whitebeard, her heart pounding.

"_Oyaji_..." Ace had finally found his voice, and he held up his left hand. "You already know, that I would lay down my life for Emiko, you know..."

"Promise me, Ace."

"I promise."

Whitebeard nodded, and stepped back.

Ace sighed, and then looked determined.

Emma swallowed. "Alright, then. Everybody, hold hands." She instructed, and everybody who was going with her obeyed. Law took her right hand, and Georgia, who was standing there, took her left hand. That didn't leave Ace with any of Emma's hands to hold, which he didn't like, so he made a big show of glaring at Law and at Georgia. The former was unaffected, and the latter glared right back at him.

When everybody was ready, Emma began to concentrate. She felt a strange, lonely tugging on her heart, as she left the world that she now knew that she'd been born into, and that she was so comfortable and happy in but, like she'd said, so many times before, she had a mission to do and, like it or not, that other world was her home, too.

"_Ribon-Ribon No Teleport_! Take us home!"

* * *

In Kings Park, a woman dressed all in black stepped up to the war memorial, and knelt down, to place some white and yellow frangi-panis at the foot of it. Behind her, the Eternal Flame danced, casting a reflection off of the polished black stone.

The image of a woman appeared, and Lee Pax turned, to see a woman with dark auburn hair and light blue eyes, also dressed all in black, and holding a bouquet of carnations.

"Hello." Lee said politely.

"Hello." The other woman replied, eyeing her warily as she set the flowers down. "I'm Jacqueline Brown."

"Lee Pax." Lee held out her hand.

Jacqueline eyed it, before shaking it carefully. "Ah, so you're Emma's Mother."

Lee nodded. "Yes. I take it that you've been affected somehow by all of this?" She asked, tightly.

"Only that my daughters were somehow transported away by _your_ daughter." Jacqueline replied, just as tightly.

Lee sighed. "I see." She ran a hand through her wavy blonde hair. "My daughter _does_ cause a lot of trouble, but she's a good person. Please believe that."

"How can I?" Jacqueline hissed. "Thanks to you and your family, I've _lost_ part of mine! It was bad enough when Carmilla's partner was killed, and now..."

"How do you think that _I_ feel?!" Lee snapped. "My socially awkward and troubled daughter, whom I've been arguing with terribly lately, brings home a boy that's really a pirate from another world, shows me that she has magical powers and then ends up in trouble with the _law_?!"

"Don't you _dare_ act like you're the victim here!" Jacqueline retorted. "Georgia was going to go on to do her certificate IV, and then become a graphic designer!"

"Well, so was Emma!" Lee exclaimed.

The two women stared at each other for a moment, before Jacqueline sighed. "I'm sorry...it's just been more stressful over these past few weeks than what you can imagine."

"We don't need to imagine." Lee replied. "I can understand better than anybody else what you are going through right now and, so, I'm also sorry."

The two women stared at each other for a moment, before the sound of bells tolling interrupted their silence.

"The bells." Jacqueline said quietly.

"They've been tolling them everyday since...well, since that day." Lee muttered, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "In the hopes that..."

"It will guide them back?" Jacqueline had tears in her eyes, as well.

Lee looked up at the cloudless sky, wondering how it could be such a nice day, when her whole entire world had fallen apart. Emma's winning Lotto ticket had really set them up - it had made them more money than they'd ever dreamed of. But, it was all bitter-sweet, and all of the money in the _world_ couldn't bring their daughter back to them.

Lee blinked, suddenly, staring up at the sky, where a small pinprick of light had just appeared. It expanded, and became a multicoloured swirl of light. Jacqueline looked up as well, and her face was shocked, as the lights separated, and shot down to the ground.

Figures appeared from the beams of light...

"That was _awesome_!"

"_Suuuuper_!"

"Why do you always think that these sorts of things are so great?!"

"Calm down, Nami-Swan."

"I'll be upset if I want!"

Lee and Jacqueline stared in shock, taking in the cyborg, the nine-foot-tall skeleton, and the reindeer...and, then, their eyes focused in on three particular figures.

"Well, there you go, Georgia, we're back." Emma said, trying to get up. "Now, would you _please_ let go of my arm?!"

"Yeah, come on, George, let her go." Carmilla said, and Georgia's face turned the colour of her hair.

"Don't. Call. Me. George."

"_Georgia_?!"

"There, you see, that's my name." Georgia sighed, and then she froze. "M-Mum?!"

"Mum?!" Carmilla repeated, as Jacqueline began running towards them.

"Georgia! Carmilla!" Jacqueline threw her arms around them. She cried, and so did Carmilla, but Georgia didn't, because Georgia never cried.

Emma, meanwhile, was staring at her Mother, who was staring back at her.

"Mum..." Emma began to walk, at the same time that Lee did.

"Emma...oh my God, Emma!" Lee broke into a run, as did Emma, and the two of them met.

Both of them burst into tears.

Ace was staring hard at Lee. Out of all of them, he was the only one who had seen the result of Emma's arguments with her parents and, no matter what, he had meant what he'd said.

He would never, _ever_ let them 'punish' her, ever again.

"Emma, where have you _been_?!" Lee exclaimed. "And...what are you _wearing_?!"

"M-Mum, I..." Emma began to explain.

"Oh my God, Emma!" Lee began with a fresh wave of tears, and the two of them hugged again.

"_That's_ Emma's Mother?" Franky whispered to Robin.

The archeologist nodded. "It appears so."

Brook was taking in the situation, and then he stepped forwards. he took out his violin, and began to play a song.

Jacqueline and Lee stared at the skeleton, and then turned to their daughters for help.

The three women sighed. Oh boy...

* * *

In the end, they all went back to the Pax's house, except for Jacqueline and her daughters, whom went back home. Jacqueline seemed to want to get her daughters as far away from Emma and the others as possible. Carmilla's colleagues also went back to their homes.

Emma had ended up transforming most of her Allies into cats, with the exceptions of Ace and Law.

Lee seeing her soon-to-be-son-in-law again was interesting. It went something like this:

"You!" Lee stared accusingly at the pirate, as if it was his fault that Emma had been taken away from her. She held her daughter protectively around the shoulders.

"I." Ace calmly crossed his arms.

"You've got some nerve, coming back here after what you did!" Lee snapped.

"After what _I_ did?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Mum, he didn't _do_ anything!" Emma pulled away from her Mother, and held up her left hand. "Besides, Mum, Ace-Chan and I are getting married soon!"

Lee gaped at the ring on her daughter's hand, and then her eyes narrowed in on the other hand. "What about _that_?!" she cried, staring at the second ring.

"Umm..."

Law stepped forwards. "That's mine and Emiko's bond. My soul reason for existing is to protect her."

Lee just stared.

Emma sighed. "Okay...why don't we go back home, and I'll explain everything?"

Lee nodded, seeming dazed. She eyed the unfamiliar faces. "Umm, Emma, who are...?"

"Oh!" Emma immediately began the introductions. "The blue-haired guy is Franky. He's a cyborg. The woman next to him is called Robin. She's an archeologist. The blue-haired girl over there is Princess Vivi...well, former Princess, but anyways. And, the musically-talented skeleton next to Vivi is Brook."

"Yohoho, it is a pleasure to meet Emma's Mother!" Brook bowed. "And, may I..."

"Brook!" Emma and Nami exclaimed.

Lee nodded. "I see. Okay then, everybody, you can all come to our house." She smiled, or at least, she tried to.

A few people had to admire her bravery in the face of such weirdness. She really _was_ quite a bit like Emma.

* * *

At home, Bruce and Sarah were both there. They greeted Emma like she'd been missing for years, and Ranger nearly knocked her over. There was a lot of hugging, and tears, and most of Emma's Allies stood back, feeling uncomfortable.

_This is so strange..._ Vivi thought, shifting uncomfortably in her cat-mode. _I didn't feel at all strange about intruding upon Emma's time with Whitebeard, but here, I feel so out of place._ From the looks on the others' faces, they all felt the same way.

Once the reunions were out of the way, and Emma had transformed everybody back into humans (with the exception of Brook, because he was just too damn big), she introduced Brook, Vivi, Franky and Robin to her Father and to her sister, and then they all sat down, to begin the explanations.

It was Emma that did most of the talking, and she spoke calmly, which surprised her family. She told them everything, from the moment that she'd decided to get that necklace, to saying goodbye to Whitebeard on the ship.

She only left out the fact that Whitebeard was her other Father, and that she and Ace were now intimately involved, and the fact that she was going to have to die and so were her Allies. They didn't need to know about that, right now...

When she got to the part about the tattoo, her Mother looked shocked and so, of course, she had to show her.

"Who did it for you?" Bruce wanted to know.

"Ace-Chan did." Emma replied. She smiled. "He's the only one that I would let do it for me."

Bruce switched his gaze to Ace. "You intend to marry my daughter?"

Ace nodded. "Yes but, before I ask for your blessing, I ask for your forgiveness. That day, a few months ago, it was me that drank all of your alcohol, not Emiko."

Bruce gave him a hard look. "Why?"

"I discovered that I was meant to die during the battle at Marineford." Ace replied. "This explains my actions, but doesn't excuse them."

"Too right." Lee remarked. "You let us think that it was our own child..."

"Enough." Garp said, from his place on a nearby chair. They all turned to look at him, except for Luffy, because he was eating bacon. "These _children_ are hardly _children_ anymore. They've all seen and done things that you cannot comprehend."

"Like what?" Lee wanted to know.

Emma glanced at Ace, and then looked back at her parents. "Guys...do you...do you remember Sumi-Chan, the blonde-haired girl with pigtails?" She mimed pigtails, and both of her parents nodded. "She's dead."

Lee gasped. She hadn't been expecting this. "What?!"

Emma explained: "We were battling our powerful enemies, the three Admirals, and also Blackbeard. Akainu was heading for Vivi-Chama whom, at the time, we thought was the Princess Of Light that we'd been searching for. I jumped in the way to protect her but, then...Sumi-Chan sacrificed herself to save me." Emma said, her eyes briefly shadowed by the memory.

"Why?" Lee whispered.

Emma looked up at her. "Because _I'm_ the Princess Of Light."

Lee, Bruce and Sarah were speechless.

Luffy decided to intervene. "Umm, you know, Emmy's become really powerful...she's gonna defeat that god, Infinite, or whatever her name is..."

"Infinity." Said about five different people.

Emma sighed, and then leaned back in her chair, noticing that Ace had fallen asleep again, and that Law appeared to be glaring at her parents. "What day is it, today?"

"It's Wednesday." Sarah replied.

"Thanks, Nee-San." Emma stood up. "I'm going to go and get the mail." She headed for the front door, and opened it up.

The police were standing there. "Good evening, Emma Pax."

* * *

**Author's Notes:  
**

**. TAFE is finally finished! I did it! I really, really did it!**

**. But, I have a cold. *Cough***

**. I'm also gonna get a second-opinion on my test results, because I didn't really go for that other doctor's diagnosis.**

**. OMG, Emma and Ace are now BONDED! Law doesn't know about this..._yet_.**

**. All of the girls seem to know, though.**

* * *

_MoorePyon - yes. Yes, it was. Thanks for the review!_

_KaiF . Raphaella - crying is manly, bro! *Sobs very manly tears* Thanks so much for the review!_

_Shiningheart of ThunderClan - my sister actually just sang this song on-stage, and she was really good...we didn't even know that she could sing! It was played at our Nanna's funeral, so I was crying, because I know how much it means to my sister. :) Yeah, Zoro and Nojiko...but, hey, it works! ^^ And, yes, nami's going to have a few things to say about this. Thanks for your review!_

_Shinobi . Hikari . Ookami - I'm still here! ^^ And, yay, a dog, cookies, and Absalom! Lol, that sounded weird. Anyways, yes, Kid swears a lot, just like Hidan! And, kills people! Thanks for the review!_

_Mugiwara Wolf Spirite - hmm, now you've just given me an idea. XD Maybe someday...maybe someday...it could happen! And, yes, that was ZoroxNojiko. Yeah, they never die when they should! Emma would be like, to quote a certain movie: "Just. F*cking. Die." If she swears for once, that is! Thanks for reviewing!_

_Cocoa Liddell - if you ever need to know anything, or feel a bit lost, just ask me, and I'll fill you in on what's going on. :D Thanks for the review!_

_MsWildLuck - yeah, even I got a bit nervous, too, and i was writing it, lol! And, don't worry, the mystery will be revealed in the very next chapter, but...it may not be a very good __revelation. *Mysterious* And, yeah, adding Kidd in there was fun. He's an awesome character. Thanks for your review! XD_


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